head--a shape most appropriate to his
lineage--while, with equal propriety, ears of corresponding magnitude
stood boldly forth to assert their claim to notice.

Both these types were distinguished for large feet, which no boot could
enclose, and hands broad beyond the compass of any glove. Neither was
ever known to get drunk, to grow fat, to engage in a game of chance, or
to lose his appetite: it became the teacher of "ingenuous youth" to
preserve an exemplary bearing before those whom he was endeavoring to
benefit; while respectable "appearances," and proper appreciation of the
good things of life, were the _alpha_ and _omega_ of his system of
morality.

But the schoolmaster--and we now include both sub-divisions of the
class--was not deficient as an example in many other things, to all who
wished to learn the true principles of living. Among other things, he
was distinguished for a rigid, iron-bound economy: a characteristic
which it might have been well to impart to many of his pupils. But that
which the discreet master denominated _prudence_, the extravagant and
wrong-headed scholar was inclined to term _meanness_: and historical
truth compels us to admit, that the rigor of grim economy sometimes wore
an aspect of questionable austerity. Notwithstanding this, however, when
we reflect upon the scanty compensation afforded the benefactor of the
rising generation, we can not severely blame his penurious tenacity any
more than we can censure an empty wine-cask for not giving forth the
nectar which we have never poured into it. If, accordingly, he was out
at the elbows, we are bound to conclude that it was because he had not
the money to buy a new coat; and if he never indulged himself in any of
the luxuries of life, it was, probably, because the purchase of its
necessaries had already brought him too near the bottom of his purse.

He was always, moreover, "a close calculator," and, with a wisdom worthy
of all imitation, never mortgaged the future for the convenience of the
present. Indeed, this power of "calculation" was not only a talent but a
passion: you would have thought that his progenitors had been
arithmeticians since the time of Noah! He could "figure up" any
proposition whatsoever: but he was especially great upon the question,
how much he could save from his scanty salary, and yet live to the end
of the year.

In fact, it was only _living_ that he cared for. The useful, with him,
was always superior to