the inind becomes paffive and indolent, and a course of perpetually in creafing ftimulus is neceffary to awaken attention. When diffipated habits are acquired. the pupil lofes power over his own mind, and, initead of vigorous voluntary exertion, which he should be able to command, he fhews that wayward imbecility, which can think fuccefsfully only by fits and starts: this paralytic ftate of mind has been found to be one of the greateft calamities attendant on what is called genius; and injudicious education creates or increases this difeafe. Let us not therefore humour children in this capricious temper, efpecially if they have quick abilities: let us give rewards proportioned to their exertions with uniform juftice, but let us not grant bounties in education, which, however they may appear to fucceed in effecting partial and temporary purposes, are not calculated to enfure any confequences permanently beneficial. The truth is, that ufeful knowledge cannot be obtained without labour, that attention long continued is laborious, but that with out this labour nothing excellent can be accomplished. Excite a child to attend in earnest for a fhort time, his mind will be lefs fatigued, and his understanding will be more improved, than if he had exerted but half the energy twice as long: the degree of pain which he may have felt will be amply and properly compenfated by his fuccefs; this will not be an arbit-' rary variable reward, but one within his own power, and that can be afcertained by his own feelings. Here is no deceit practifed, no illufion ; the fame course of conduct may be regularly pursued through the whole of his education, and his confidence in his tutor will progreffively increafe. On the contrary, if, to entice him to enter the paths of knowledge, we ftrew them with flowers, how will he feel when he must force his way through thorns and briars ? There is a material difference between teaching children in play, and making learning a task; in the one cafe we affociate factitious pleasure, in the other factitious pain, with the object: both produce pernicious effects upon the temper, and retard the natural progrefs of the understanding. The advocates in favour of "fcholaftic badinage" have urged, that it excites an intereft in the minds of children fimilar to that which makes : them endure a confiderable degree of labour in the purfuit of their amutements. Children, it is faid, work hard at play, therefore we should let them play at work. Would not this produce effects the very reverse of what we defire? The whole queftion muft at laft depend upon the meaning of the word play if by play be meant every thing that is not usually called a tafk, then undoubtedly much may be learned at play; if, on the contrary, we mean by the expreffion to defcribe that ftate of fidgetting idleness, or of boisterous activity, in which the intellectual powers are torpid, or ftunned with unmeaning noise, the affertion contradicts itself. At play fo defined children can learn nothing but bodily activity; it is certainly true, that when children are interested about any thing, whether it be about what we call a trifle, or a matter of confequence, they will exert themselves in order to fucceed; but from the moment the attention. is fixed, no matter on what, children are no longer at idle play, they are at active work. the reafon of the pupil gets ftrength; and that mothers, who have had any great fhare in the education of boys, are apt to mistake the different feafons of indulgence and control. A modern princefs, who had taken confiderable pains in the education of her fon, made both herfelf and him ridiculous by her anxiety upon his introduction into the world. She travelled about with him from place to place, to make him fee every thing worth feeing; but he was not to fir from her prefence; fhe could not bear to have him out of fight or hearing. In all companies he was chaperoned by his mother. Was he invited to a ball, fhe must be invited alfo, or he could not accept of the invitation; be must go in the fame coach, and return in the fame coach with her. "I fhould like extremely to dance another dance," faid he one evening to his partner, "but you fee I muft ge; my mother is putting on her cloak." The tall young man called for fome negus, and had the glass at his lips, when his mamma called out in a fhrill voice, through a vifta of heads, "Eh! My fon no drink wine! My fon like milk and water!" The fon was at this time at years of difcretion.' On shedience. Children have not our abftra&t ideas of the pleafures of liberty, they do not, until they have fuffered from illjudged restraints, feel any frong defire to exercife what we call free will; liberty is, with them, the liberty of doing certain fpecific things which they have found to be agreeable; liberty is not the general idea of plea fure, in doing whatever they will to do. Rouffeau defires, that we should not let our pupil know that in doing our will he is obedient to us. But why? Why thould we not let a child know the truth? If we attempt to conceal it, we should only get into endless abfurdities and difficulties. Lord Kames tells us, that he was acquaint One ed with a couple, who in the educa tion of their family pursued as much as poffible Rouffeau's plan. evening, as the father was playing at chefs with a friend, one of his children, a boy of about four years old, took a piece from the board, and ran away to play with it. The father, whofe principles would not permit him to affert his right to his own cheffman, began to bargain for his property with his fon. "Harry," faid he, "let us have back the man, and there's an apple for you." The apple was foon devoured, and the child returned to the chefs board, and kidnapped another cheffman. What this man's ranfom might be we are not yet informed; but Lord Kames tells us, that the father was obliged to fufpend his game at chess till his fon was led away to his fupper. Does it feem juft, that parents fhould become flaves to the liberties of their children? If one fet of beings or another fhould facrifice a portion of happiness, furely, those who are the moft useful, and the most capable of increafing the knowledge and the pleafures of life, have fome claim to a preference; and when the power is entirely in their own hands, it is most probable that they will defend their own interefts. We fhall not, like many who have spoken of Rouffseau, fteal from him after having abused him; his remarks upon the abfurd and tyrannical restraints which are continually impofed upon children by the folly of nurses and fervants, or by the imprudent anxiety of parents and preceptors, are excellent; whenever Rouffeau is in the right, his cloquence is irrefiftible. To determine what degree of obedience it is juft to require from children, we must always confider what degree of reason they poffels: whenever we can ufe reason, we should never ufe force; it is only whilft children are too young to comprehend reafon, that we fhould expect from from them implicit fubmiffion. The means which have been pointed out for teaching the habit of obedience, muft not be depended upon for teaching any thing more than the mere habit. When children begin to reafon, they do not act merely from habit; they will not be obedient at this age, unless their understanding is convinced that it is for their advantage to be fo. Wherever we can ex plain the reafons for any of our requefts, we should now attempt it; but whenever these cannot be fully explained it is better not to give a partial explanation; it will be beft to fay fteadily," You cannot under ftand this now, you will perhaps underftand it fome time hence.' Whenever we tell children, that we forbid them to do fuch and fuch things for any particular reafon, we must take care that the reafon affigned is adequate, and that it will in all cafes hold good. For inftance, if we forbid a boy to eat unripe fruit because it will make him ill, and if afterwards the boy eat fome unripe goofeberries without feeling ill in confequence of his disobedience, he will doubt the truth of the perfon who prohibited unripe fruit; he will rather truft his own partial experience than any affertions. The idea of hurting his health is a general idea, which he does not yet comprehend. It is more prudent to keep him out of the way of unripe gooseberries, than to hazard at once his obedience and his integrity. We need not expatiate farther; the inftance we have given may be readily applied to all cafes in which children have it in their power to difobey with immediate impunity, and, what is ftill more dangerous, with the certainty of obtaining immediate pleasure. The gratification of their fenfes, and the defire of bodily exercise, ought never to be unnecelfarily reftrained. Our pupils fhould diftinctly perceive, that we wish to make them happy, and every inftance, Ed. Mag. Jan. 1799. in which they difcover that obedience has really made them happier, will be more in our favour, than all the lectures we could preach. From the past they will judge of the future ; children, who have for many years experienced, that their parents have exacted obedience only to fuch commands as proved to be ultimately wife and beneficial, will furely be difpofed from habit, from gratitude, and yet more from prudence, to confult their parents in all the material actions of their lives. We may obferve that the spirit of contradiction, which fometimes breaks out in young people the moment they are able to act for themfelves, arifes frequently from flight causes in their early education. Children, who have experienced, that fubmiffion to the will of others has conftantly made them unhappy, will neceffarily, by reafoning inverfely, imagine, that felicity confifts in following their own free will. The French poet Boileau was made very unhappy by neglect and restraint during his education; when he grew up, he never would agree with those who talked to him of the pleasures of childhood. "Peut on," difoit ce poëte amoureux de l'indépendance, "ne pas regarder comme un grand malheur le chagrin continuel et particulier à cet age de ne jamais faire fa volonté ?" It was in vain, continues his biographer, to boast to him of the advantages of this happy conftraint, which faves youth from fo many follies. "What fignifics our knowing the value of our chains when we have shaken them off, if we feel nothing but their weight whilst we wear them?" the galled poet used to reply. Nor did Boileau enjoy his freedom, though he thought with fuch horror of his flavery. He deelared, that if he had it in his choice, either to be born again upon the hard condition of again going through his childhood, or not to exift, he would H rather rather not exist: but he was not happy during any period of his exiftence; he quarrelled with all the feafons of life; "all feemed to him equally difagreeable; youth, manhood, and old age, are each subject, he observed, to impetuous paffions, to care, and to infirmities." Hence we may conclude, that the feverity of his education had not fucceeded in teaching him to fubmit philofophic ally to neceffity, or yet in giving him much enjoyment from that liberty which he so much coveted. Thus it too often happens, that an imaginary value is fet upon the exercise of the free will by thofe, who during their childhood have fuffered under injudicious reftrictions. Sometimes the love of free will is fo uncontrollably excited, even during childhood, that it breaks out, unfortunately, both for the pupils and the preceptors, in the formidable shape of obftinacy.” What is afterwards faid of obstinacy has great beauty. "An ill-cured obftinacy of temper, when it breaks out after young people are arrived at years of discretion, is terrible. Those who attempt to conquer obftinacy in children by bodily pain, or by fevere punishments of any kind, often appear to fucceed, and to have entirely eradicated, when they have merely fuppreffed the disease for a time. As foon as the child that is intimidated by force or fear is relieved from reftraint, he will refume his former habits: he may change the mode of fhewing it, but the difpofition will continue the fame. It will appear in various parts of the conduct, as the limbs of the giant appeared unexpectedly at different periods, and in different parts of the Caftle of Otranto." FALSE INDULGENCE; OR LOST TIME RECOVERED BY CLOSE ATTENTION. A Tale. CH HARLES Hartley was the only fon of a gentleman who lived near Portsmouth, whofe mind and body were equally incapable of making the flighteft exertions, and who was deftitute of all virtue, except that of parental affection. Mr Hartley had originally been intended for the church, but the natural indolence of his difpofition, united to the imbecility of his understanding, had rendered him fo inattentive to the neceffary forms of the univerfity, that, when he was examined for his degree, he made fuch vacant replies to the interrogations that were put to him, that the whole fenate houfe were in a burst of laughter, and he was severely reprimanded for at tempting to pass an examination. Although few circumstances were able to make an impreffion upon Mr Hartley's feelings, yet this public difgrace produced that extraordinary effect; and, unable to fupport the general ridicule, he inftantly ordered a post-chaife, and drove down to his paternal inheritance, refolving never more to behold a place where his character had been ftigmatized, and his abilities degraded. Scarcely had he arrived at his father's refidence, when the pleafing intelligence of his being left an eftate of fifteen hun dred a year, by the unexpected bequeft of his godfather, was announced to him, his difappointment was forgotten, his indignation subsided, and the idea of enjoying the comforts of life, without the trouble of procuring them, appeared the completion of all human felicity. As his perfon was rather agreeable, and his fortune ample (for by the death of his father it was confiderably augmented), no great exertions were required to form a matrimonial engagement; and, when that great bufinefs was once accomplished, he fancied himself authorized to pass the remainder of his days in total indolence, and abfolute inactivity. Fifteen years had elapfed from that period, without any thing material occurring in Mr Hartley's family; but, at length, to the astonishment of the neighbourhood, and the great joy of his papa, the hero of this ftory made an unexpected appearance. No fooner bad Charles Hartley arrived on this theatre of action, than his father made the extraordinary refolution, never to let him be tormented with school difcipline or private tuition, but to bring him up in that total ignorance of learning and literature which had occafioned him fo much uneafinefs, and fuch unconquerable difgrace. In this fingular determination Mrs Hartley perfectly coincided, for he had fo trequently illustrated all the circumftances of his misfortune at Cambridge, and defcribed the tutors and mafters in fuch terrifying colours, that Mrs Hartley confidered them as a band of tyrants, who delighted in cruelty, injuftice, and oppreffion. Although her character was in many inftances the reverse of her hufband's, yet in point of information they were exactly fimilar, only that her defects proceeded more from education than from nature. That Charles's difpofition fhould have been totally unlike both father and mother was certainly extraordinary; but, from the earliest infancy, he gave fymptoms not only of an active mind, but of a fuperior understanding. That he was able to run alone before he was twelve months was certainly owing to the admirable care which his nurfe took of him; but that he fhould never be fatisfied five minutes together in any fituation, after he once had the ufe of his legs, was certainly an indication of that activity of character that afterwards marked his future actions. By the time Charles was four years old he had not only infured to himself the affection of father, mother, and fervants, but he had contrived to initiate himfelf into the good opinion of the whole neighbourhood. Mr Hartley was fo doatingly fond of his fon, that he wifhed conftantly to enjoy his fociety; but their difpofitions were fo totally oppofite, that Charles found any company more agreeable. If his father could have trundled a hoop, played at trap-ball, cricket, or any of thofe favourite amusements, of course he would have preferred his fociety to Joe Turner's (a little foot-boy, who was hired as play-fellow to the young fquire, as he was called); or had he been able to well the ftory of Jack the Giant-killer, or Blue Beard, as frequently as nurfe Buller did, he might then have had a chance of attracting his fon's affections; but the infipidity of Mr Hartley's character was fo great, and his mind fo barren and uninformed, that he was incapable of replying to thofe queftions which the curiofity natural to childhood wifhed to have fatisfied. feeling or affection, for Mr Hartley had a dangerous illness when the child was about fix years old, and he never quitted the apartment until he was recovered, and then be returned to his usual sports with an avidity that fhewed a defire to make up for loft time. Of his mother he was very fond; and, as the undertook to be his inftructress in the art of reading, he would spend hours together in her apartment before his father was up in the morning, for no books were introduced into Mr Hartley's prefence; his averfion to them had been unconquerable from the time he had been refuled his degrees at Cambridge. About half a mile from Hartley Abbey refided a Mr Willfon, a gentieman of large fortune; and as Charles and his companion Joe were one day paffing the garden, the former was attracted by the appearance of fome ripe grapes which hung under glass bells for the purpose of ripening, and as Mr Willfon was walking unperceived, he overheard the following conversation. Charles. If you'll let me get upon your fhoulders, Joe, I can very eafily fcramble over that hedge, for I must have one of thofe bunches of grapes, and fo it don't fignify. No, don't you get over, mafter Hartley, replied Joe, for fear you should fcratch your legs; but let me get over, for I am not afraid of being feen, for Mr Willfon's coach paffed us juft as we came out of the abbey gate. Do you think your legs won't feel a fcratch as well as mine? faid Charles; befides, if the gardener was to fee you, he would give you a good threshing, and he would not touch me if I put this half crown in his hand; and if I don't get a fight of his honour, I fhall leave it in the glass, or else, perhaps, Mr Willfon may think the poor fellow has eaten the grapes himself; but if he finds half-acrown there, that will convince him to the contrary, and the grapes I must and will have. So faying, he mounted Joe's fhoulders, and was over in a moment. Mr Willfon did not difcover himself until he had taken the grapes, put the half crown into the glass, and was conveying them off in great triumph. Confcious of having acted improperly, and incapable of forming any excufe, he ftood for fome moments fixed in aftonihment; then approaching Mr Willfon, and taking off his hat, I could not help it, Sir, said he, indeed I could not help it; they looked fo tempting I could not H 2 Though Charles appeared to have fo little fatisfaction in his father's society, it neither proceeded from his want of pafs |