had, therefore, only the privileges of a common-school education, where writing, reading, arithmetic, and a little of geometry, were taught.

Now some boys with these simple helps had never been great; the reason why they were sufficient for Washington I will tell you. In the first place, he had a good mother, who, like almost all good mothers, frequently counselled and advised her son to make the best use of his time at school; to pay attention to his lessons; to learn them well; and thus, not only to store his mind with knowledge, but to get into the habit of studying thoroughly, and of improving his mind. In the second place, Washington had the good sense, the virtue, and the wisdom to mind his mother in these things. These are the two great reasons why a common-school education was sufficient for so great a man, and they are the two chief reasons why he became so great.

Now this shows that the advantages a boy possesses are of less consequence than the way in which he improves them. A boy may be sent to a highschool, and go through college, and have good natural capacity, and yet turn out to be a useless, weak, and ignorant man. Merely going through a high-school, or an academy, or a college, cannot make a good, useful, or great man. In order to be good, useful, great, or even happy, it is necessary in youth to do as Washington did.

Another thing to be noticed here is, that Washington had none of that folly which some boys think smartness, or a mark of genius, or manliness-a disposition to disobey a mother or a schoolmaster. Washington was obedient to both of them. If, therefore, a boy wishes to be successful in life, let him cultivate obedience to parents and teachers.

One of the great advantages that followed from Washington's making the

best of his school privileges was, his adopting good habits. He got into the habit of doing everything thoroughly. He was not willing to learn a lesson by halves, and when he came to recite, to guess and shuffle his way out. No, indeed! He did not leave a lesson till he had mastered it-till he knew all about it-till he had stamped it so firmly in his mind as to make the impression indelible.

The reason why habits are so important, is, that they hang about a person, and actually guide him through life. When a man has got the habit of doing a thing, it is easy to repeat it, and it is hard to act otherwise. Habits may be illustrated by a rail-road. The cars run easily upon the track, and it is difficult for them to get away from it. What work a car would make in attempting to run over the rough ground! Now, the mind is very like the car; it slides along glibly enough upon the rails of habit, but it works hard and makes little progress over a place where it has not been before. Thus, if a boy gets into the habit of lying, he lies, as a locomotive glides upon its track, with great rapidity, smoothness, and ease. And if he has once got into this habit of lying, and then attempts to tell the truth, he feels as if he had got off the track, and is like a car running over the common ground.

The importance of this matter of habit is seen upon a little reflection. We must remember what has been said before, that the things we do once or twice, we are likely to repeat. We are, therefore, always forming habits, good or bad; and children frequently get them settled as a rail-road track, before they are aware of it. Now, these habits may ruin those who adopt them, and turn into evil the best advantages that they can enjoy.

If a boy gets the habit of studying in

a half-way, slovenly, slip-shod manner, he is almost certain to be greatly injured thereby. If he goes to college, he there continues the same habit; when he comes out, he still carries it with him; when he enters upon business, it still hangs about him. He does nothing well, or thoroughly; he is careless and slovenly in all he does; there is imperfection and weakness in his career, and finally he turns out an unsuccessful man. If he is a merchant, he usually fails in business; if a lawyer, a physician, or minister, he is generally at the tail-end of his profession, poor, useless, and despised. Such is the mighty influence of our habits; and remember that they are formed in early life. Remember that every day feeds and fosters our habits.

It is interesting to trace the way that Washington's youthful habits operated upon him. Some of his early schoolbooks are extant, and these show that he was very thorough in writing. He even took the pains to write out, in a fine hand, the forms in which notes of hand, bills of exchange, receipts, bonds, deeds, wills, should be drawn. Thus he cultivated the habit of writing neatly, of being patient in copying papers, and of being accurate in making copies; and at the same time he made himself acquainted with the forms of drawing up business documents. In all this, we see the habit of doing things patiently, accurately, and thoroughly. We see that Washington had so trained himself, that he could sit down and do that which was mere toil, and which some boys would think stupid drudgery.

Another thing that is remarkable at this early period of Washington's life, is, that in writing he was careful to study neatness and mechanical precision. Several quires of his school-manuscripts remain, in which he worked out questions in arithmetic and mathe

matics.

These manuscripts are very neatly executed; there are several long sums which are nicely done and beautifully arranged. There are, also, extensive columns of figures, and all set down with careful precision.

Another thing visible in these manuscripts, is, that Washington studied accuracy; his sums were all right. What a beautiful illustration of the great man's life! His youthful manuscripts show that he learned to render his school-boy pages fair; to work out all his sums right. Thus he started in life-and thus he became qualified to make the pages of his history glorious; the footing up of his great account such as the sentiment of justice throughout the world would approve!

Another thing that had great influence in the formation of Washington's character and in securing success in life, was, that very early he adopted a code or system of rules of behavior. This was found among his papers after his death, in his own hand-writing, and written at the age of thirteen. I will give you a few extracts from this code of manners, or rules of conduct:

66

Speak not evil of the absent. "When you speak of God, let it ever be with reverence.

"Labor to keep alive in your heart that spark of heavenly fire called conscience."

Such are some of those rules that Washington wrote out in a fair hand at thirteen. Most of these rules turn on one great principle, which is, that you treat others with respect; that you are tender of the feelings, and rights, and characters of others; that you do to others as you would have others do to you. But another thing, also, is to be considered, which is, that Washington not only had a set of good rules of behavior, all written out in a fair hand and committed to memory, but he was in

the habit of observing them; and he not only observed them when a child, but after he became a man. He got into the habit of obeying every one of these rules, and every one of them became a rail-road track to him, and he therefore followed them; and thus it was that his manners were always so dignified, kind, and noble; thus it was that his character and conduct became so great and good.

Now, I would not have my readers suppose that Washington was always a man; on the contrary, when he was a boy, he loved fun as well as anybody. He liked to run, to leap, to wrestle, and play at games. He had a soldierly turn, even in boyhood, and was fond of heading a troop of boys, and marching them about with a tin kettle for a drum.

Washington, too, was quick-tempered and passionate when a boy; but the beauty of his story in this point is, that by adopting good habits and principles he overcame these tendencies of his nature, and he showed that all quicktempered boys can do the same, if they please. They can govern their tempers; they can adopt good rules of conduct; they can get into the habit of being calm, patient, and just, and thus grow up to honor and usefulness.

There are many other traits of character belonging to Washington that are interesting and worthy of imitation. He was accurate and just in all his dea!ings; he was punctual in the performance of promises; he was a man of prayer, and an observer of the Sabbath. And the point here to be noticed by youth, is, that all these qualities which we have been noticing appear to be the fruit of seed sown in his youth. They appear all to have taken root in one great principle-OBEDIENCE-obedience to his mother, obedience to his teachers

obedience to a sense of duty, formed into habit in early life. This is the

real source of Washington's greatness. He was not made greater or better than most others, but he adopted good habits, and under their influence he became great.

Another thing to be observed is, that in adopting good habits, Washington rejected bad ones. He was guilty of no profanity; no rudeness or harshness of speech; he was not addicted to sprees; he was no haunter of bar-rooms or taverns; he had no vulgar love of eccentricity; he affected not that kind of smartness which displays itself in irreg ularity or excess; he did not think it clever to disobey teachers or parents; he was no lover of scandal, or of profane and rude society.

The teaching, then, of Washington's example is this: study obedience, patience, industry, thoroughness, accuracy, neatness, respect to the rights and feelings of others, and make these things habitual-rail-tracks in the mind. path of obedience is the path to glory; the path of disobedience is the path of failure and disappointment in the race of life.

The Poet and the Child.

The

THERE is a man in England by the name of Thomas Campbell. He is a poet, and wrote two famous pieces, “The Pleasures of Hope," and "Gertrude of Wyoming," besides many other smaller poems, which are among the most beautiful in our language. A short time since he was passing through one of the parks of London, which are extensive fields ornamented with fine trees, and he there saw a beautiful girl, four years old, led along by a woman. Mr. Campbell seems to be a lover of children, and so he wrote the following

lines about this little girl. They are very pleasing lines; and I introduce them here that my fair young readers may see how kindly a famous poet looks on the face of a child, which bespeaks goodness.

LINES ON HIS NEW CHILD-SWEETᎻᎬᎪᎡᎢ.

I hold it a religious duty

To love and worship children's beauty;
They've least the taint of earthly clod,-
They 're freshest from the hand of God.
With heavenly looks, they make us sure
The heaven that made them must be pure.
We love them not in earthly fashion,
But with a beatific passion.

I chanced to, yesterday, behold
A maiden child of beauty's mould;
'Twas near (more sacred was the scene)
The palace of our patriot Queen.
The little charmer to my view
Was sculpture brought to life anew ;
Her eyes had a poetic glow-
Her pouting mouth was Cupid's bow,
And through her frock I could descry
Her neck and shoulders' symmetry.
'Twas obvious, from her walk and gait,
Her limbs were beautifully straight.
I stopped th' enchantress, and was told,
Though tall, she was but four years old.
Her guide so grave an aspect wore
I could not ask a question more-
But followed her. The little one
Threw backward ever and anon
Her lovely neck, as if to say,
I know you love me, Mister Grey.
For, by its instinct, childhood's eye
Is shrewd in physiognomy;
They well distinguish fawning art
From sterling fondness of the heart.

And so she flirted, like a true
Good woman, till we bade adieu !
'Twas then I with regret grew wild-
Oh! beauteous, interesting child!
Why asked I not thy home and name?
My courage failed me-more's the shame.

But where abides this jewel rare ?
Oh! ye that own her, tell me, where?
For sad it makes my heart, and sore,
To think I ne'er may meet her more.

EVERY one who looks at an ostrich can see that, having very long legs, he can run pretty fast if he tries. The ostrich is, in fact, swifter of foot than any other animal. He will outstrip the fleetest dog, or horse, or even the antelope.

Not only is he the fleetest of running animals, but he is the largest of birds; but though he is a bird, he cannot fly. In running, he only lifts his wings a little, flapping them slightly, but deriving no aid from them in his progress. The ostrich, therefore, is a remarkable bird, and seems to have been quite a puzzle to a great many wise heads. Pliny, the old Roman, thought it was rather a beast than a bird, and the Greeks and Asiatics esteemed it so like a quadruped in some of its qualities, that they called it a camel-bird.

When a thing is wonderful, people always strive to make it more wonderful; so they tell very large stories about ostriches eating iron and brass with a right good appetite! Upon hearing some people talk about this creature, you would fancy that a shovel and tongs,

and a pair of andirons, would be but a good breakfast for it! Now this is all nonsense. Iron and brass can no more give nutriment to an ostrich than a man ; it may be that an ostrich, which, it must be confessed, has a good appetite, sometimes swallows down a spike or a tenpenny-nail to aid his digestion, just as other birds eat gravel; but this is no doubt all that can be said about the matter.

The ostrich is a native of most parts of Africa, and of Arabia in Asia. It is scarce now in all countries, but in the days of ancient Rome it appears that they were abundant, for the brains of six hundred were served up at one famous dinner! It is a bird that likes the company of its own kind very well, and several are often seen together; but it has not a good opinion of mankind. It seeks places remote from the haunts of men, and seems to prefer the desert and the solitude. When pursued, it does not run straight forward, but wheels round in circles, keeping pretty near its enemy, and is thus often killed by being shot, or struck with a kind of spear. The creature is generally inof