that whenever I came they would work as hard as they could.

So much, sir, for the apparent good-will, promised honors, and high expectations, with which the people of the world are disposed to receive me. Shall I now tell you what I have heard whispered from a circle for whose good I am especially anxious; for whose benefit I am to visit your planet, and to promote whose immortal interests, I may say, my mission is chiefly designed? If this beloved society, which in comparison of all the rest of the inhabitants of the earth may be considered as a little flock-if this society keep the resolutions they have formed, I shall have no cause to regret my errand to them. Their own prayers will then be fulfilled, and their sacred purposes will be brought forth into action. By many of them' indeed, I may be greeted by sighs, and may behold on their pale cheeks the tears of repentance; in some I shall witness efforts after self-denial; in others, endeavors to subdue the risings of temper, and to exercise forbearance and forgiveness of injuries. Some will go forth on errands of mercy among the poor; others will pour the balm of consolation into the wounded spirit, and be found binding up the broken heart. By them, in many cases, the glad tidings of salvation will be proclaimed to perishing men; the ignorant will be instructed; the naked will be clothed; the hungry will be fed; the prisoner will be visited; the wicked will be reproved or reclaimed by their gentle admonition and salutary counsel; those who have been thoughtless will become serious, while the young and idle, and careless among them, will be found studious, diligent, and attentive.

All this I have a right to expect, sir, if human resolution and the purposes and promises of the children of men are worthy of my confidence. But as I speak from the experience of those who have gone before me, I must declare that my wishes and my expectations are at variance. Still it is possible that for once the pilgrims of Earth may be sincere, that they may be in earnest, and may with full purpose of heart attempt and achieve their own best desires; and, undeterred by temptation, trials, and weakness, may accomplish the good they intend to do. This will depend very much upon their previous

use of those means within their power, for by prayer, and supplication, and watchfulness, and strenuous efforts after what is good, with sorrow and hatred of the evil that is past, much may be attained :—above all, by a cordial faith in the promised help of ONE, who alone is able to work in them either to will or to do, of his good pleasure.

Sir, though there may be something enigmatical in my address, I would wish that there might be no ambiguity respecting the persons to whom that address, through you, is intended to be conveyed. I shall therefore descend to some specific hints which will be easily understood. And in the first place, one young person has resolved, that from the time she is introduced to me, she is to begin a new course of life; that her intention is to rise early every morning, to read diligently a portion of God's holy word, to retire every evening to her own chamber and again study the scriptures, engage in devotional exercises, and in the perusal of some serious author till nine o'clock. Another individual has resolved, that from the time she is acquainted with me, she will no longer be intimidated by the scoffs and sneers of the world, from doing what she can to be useful in her native place; and has fixed upon the day of my arrival, for offering herself as a teacher of a junior class in the Sunday school. A third has resolved upon the same day, to join the committee appointed to enquire into the wants of the poor at this inclement season, and to visit the sick and infirm in her neighbourhood, following the example of that woman in the gospel to whose praise it is recorded, that "she had done what she could." Besides these, some little girls have agreed together to celebrate my arrival by increased diligence in their own studies, and by paying greater attention to the lessons they give to their younger sisters; while a little lady, who shall be nameless, has promised to have more temper with Lucy and Mary when teaching them their grammar and music, and is resolved to bear with her brothers when they are rude and noisy, without getting angry or complaining to her mother.

Among the humbler walks of life, where, if temptation presents itself in forms less refined, it is not yet the less strong or powerful, some apprentices, who heretofore have been to be

blamed, have determined so soon as I make my appearance, to amend their lives, by sanctifying the sabbath and carefully reading the Holy Scriptures. They have resolved from that day to speak the truth, to be honest, sober, and industrious to attend to the interest of their masters as if it were their own; no longer to waste in sport or idleness the time which they ought to employ in labor; but to learn their business correctly, that they may attain the object for which their parents placed them at trade.

There is another class of persons, Mr. Editor, to whom perhaps I ought to address myself, who are apt to boast of what I shall probably do for them; but I refer them to Prov. xxvii. 1. as the only advice I can give them at present. There are others, the timid, the hopeless, the fearful, who are as much in need of counsel as the former. To them I say, your fears are foolish, if not sinful. Your apprehensions are painful to yourselves, and derogatory to the faithfulness, tenderness, and care of a gracious Master; and I counsel you to peruse re-peruse the last verse of the sixth chapter of St. Matthew.

and

In regard to that wide class of your young friends, sir, who are anticipating my arrival with thoughtless hearts, or with fond expectations, as a day of joyous meeting with those they love-Alas! must I give them a text also? Look then, affectionate and bouyant spirits, to I Sam. xx. 18; for perhaps, in respect of one of you, it may have to be said, "TO-MORROW thou shalt be missed, for thy seat shall be empty!" O! to how many shall I never come !-Listen, then, O ye children of men! whatsoever your hands find to do, do it with all your might; and boast not yourselves of TO-MORROW, for ye know not what a day may bring forth.

M. G. Amanuensis.

Io sono DIMANO!

USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

LETTER II.

MY DEAR FATHER,―The promise which I gave of writing a letter to you on the subject of the difference between reason in man, and the instructive sagacity of brutes, involves a more difficult task than I at first suspected. In attempting to fulfil

my engagement, I will rely on your kindness to excuse my failing to notice any faint shades of distinction between the two natures; for, I purpose only to name a few of those excellencies which place the mental pre-eminence of man in perfect contrast with the wisdom of the lower animals.

In the first place, I think I may venture to say, that they have not the faculty of invention. They do not, I fancy ever reflect on the past, or expect a consequence to spring from any action they perform; but are governed by the mere sensation of the moment. Monkeys are aware that fruit has a pleasant taste; but when it is scarce, they have no notion, either of being careful of it, or of cultivating the trees by which it is produced. The apes of Africa will approach the fires left by human savages, and they have been seen to assemble with delight upon the ashes, and to draw nearer and nearer to the expiring embers, as if to lament over their departing brightness; and yet they were never observed to add a single piece of fuel to revive the blaze with which they had been so much pleased. On the contrary, man is the creature of wonderful contrivance. He has, therefore, been called, by a shrewd philosopher, "a tool-making animal;" because, what his personal strength cannot effect by its own simple efforts, he can prosecute, by contriving cranks, and wheels, and levers, which multiply his power to an amazing extent. The steam-boat, gliding up the river, compared to the ancient galley toiling with oars against the same stream, is a proof of human skill, to which there is no mark of resemblance in the acts of the lower creation. I need not here remind you of the thousands of spindles in a cotton-factory, which, at this moment are whirling about by the motion of one engine, and doing the work of many thousands of human hands, which used to toil and spin.

I will now contemplate the sameness of animal sagacity in connexion with the progressive ingenuity of the human mind. The remarks of Virgil on the habits of bees, and his account of other animals in his day, are as pertinent now, as they were when he observed them, nearly nineteen centuries ago. The beaver has made no advances in social union, nor are its notions of architecture in the least improved since this wonderful

animal was first known to naturalists. And, I dare say, that there has been no alteration in the shape, nor any variety in manufacturing the spider's web, since it was made to catch flies just after sin had caused the garden of Eden to be blighted. But, while almost five thousand years have witnessed no improvement in the talents of animals, it is surprising what a few centuries have exhibited, as the product of human genius and industry. Think only of the abodes of our druidical ancestors, and then view the magnificent colleges and palaces of their successors in the seats of learning, and the offices of state. There is really some difference between the trunk of a hollow tree and Lambeth Palace! Yet each has exhibited the style of residence belonging to prelates of those opposite religions which our own nation has been taught to reverence. Such reflections as these lead me to conclude, that instinct is an intuitive and a stationary excellence; while reason marches on, marking her path with useful discoveries in science and successive monuments of art.

The acquisition of knowledge seems to degrade the brutes; while it forms the glory of our nature. Although brute animals can exhibit many wonderful tricks, they have no voluntary talent for instruction; and their attainments are a violation of their natural state. There is a very mournful air about those beasts in our menageries, which have been long under the instruction of inhuman man; and which melancholy appearance, I think, sufficiently indicates the misery they endure in being daily forced to performances contrary to those modes of life assigned to them by the all-wise Creator. By a process of cruelty the orang-outang is made to walk on two feet instead of four; and the elephant is, by similar means, taught to crouch to his rider-to open the gate of his den, and cunningly to take food out of his keeper's pocket. But in this state of tameness and instruction, these animals are miserable creatures, compared to their species, which are yet ranging at large in the jungle, in company with their own herds. What advantage has the lion, who is compelled to dance on our modern stage, over his brother lion, who is at the same

* His fore legs are tied to his back.