may, as it were, insensibly
suck in such principles as will be of use to them afterwards in the
manly conduct and ordering of their lives," we might expect somewhat
more of pure morality and sense, with rather more elegance of style,
than appear in the following sentences:

"I struck my sister with a stick, and was forced to flee into the
woods; but when I had tarried there awhile, I returned to my parents,
and submitted myself to their mercy, and they forgave me my offence."

"When my dear mother, unknown to my father, shall send me money, I
will pay my creditors their debts, and provide a supper for all my
friends in my chamber, without my brother's consent, and will make
presents to all my relations."

So the measure of maternal tenderness is the sum of money, which the
dear mother, unknown to her husband, shall send to her son; the
measure of the son's generosity is the supper he is to give to all his
friends in his chamber, exclusive of his poor brother, of whose
offence we are ignorant. His munificence is to be displayed in making
presents to all his relations, but in the mean time he might possibly
forget to pay his debts, for "justice is a slow-paced virtue, and
cannot keep pace with generosity."

A reasonable notion of punishment, and a disinterested love of truth,
is well introduced by the following picture. "My master's countenance
was greatly changed when he found his beloved son guilty of a lie.
Sometimes he was pale with anger; sometimes he was red with rage; and
in the mean time, he, poor boy, was trembling, (for what?) for fear of
punishment." Could the ideas of punishment and vengeance be more
effectually joined, than in this portrait of the master red with rage?
After truth has been thus happily recommended, comes honesty. "Many
were fellow-soldiers with valiant Jason when he stole the golden
fleece: many were companions with him, but he bore away the glory of
the enterprise."

Valour, theft, and glory, are here happily combined. It will avail us
nothing to observe, that the golden fleece has an allegorical meaning,
unless we can explain satisfactorily the nature of an allegorical
theft; though to our classical taste this valiant Jason may appear a
glorious hero, yet to the simple judgment of children, he will appear
a robber. It is fastidious, however, to object to Jason in the
exercise-book, when we consider what children are to hear, and to hear
with admiration, as they advance in their study