account of the gradual weakening vegetative powers, the natural effect of age. EARLY TRAINING OF CHILDREN. Few persons are aware or consider, how very early in life the tempers of children begin to be formed, and consequently how soon that important part of the business of education, which consists in the training the mind to habits of discipline and submission, may be commenced. Following this clue, the Oak of Allonville, giving in the middle portion of its trunk a diameter of more than eight feet, must, according to this computation, be above eight hundred years of age; even supposing, (which is by no means allowable,) that it has always continued increasing a foot in a century. Certainly, this tree, the summit of which was majestically reared toward the clouds of old, and which has been shortened and contracted on every side, cannot for ages have grown in such proportion. One cannot but think, that its increase has been scarcely perceived for the hun-ing to me on that subject." dred and twenty-five years since it has been converted into a chapel, by the happy thought of M. l'Abbé du Détroit. One must not then give to the tree of Allonville less than 800 or 900 summers. Perhaps, in its youth, it lent its shade to the companions of William the Conqueror, when they assembled to invade the British shore. Perhaps the Norman troubadour, on the return from the first crusade, there often sang to his admiring fellow countrymen the exploits of Godfrey and of Raymond. "I wish," said a lady, some years since, to the writer of a work on education, "I wish very much to consult you about the education of my little girl, who is now just three years old."—" Madam," replied the author, "you are at least two years too late in apply In England, there are many oaks larger and loftier than this of Allonville, but none that are more interesting. In general there remain but very imperfect accounts as to the progress of growth and possible duration of trees. It is certain, that they are greater than is commonly supposed. The axe prevents almost always their natural death: and the situation alone of the Oak of Allonville, near the church, and in the burial ground, has probably rescued it from the common fate. In the present day especially, the slightest whim of the owner fells an ancient tree, reverenced by his forefathers during many centuries; an instant destroys that which pitiless time had spared for ages; that which so long a lapse of time can alone replace. It is not so in the east. In those countries where shade is at the same time more wanted and less fre The first principle of education to instil into the mind of a child, is that of unhesitating obedience. The time for doing this, is the moment at which it can be perceived that the child distinctly apprehends the nature of any command, no matter what, that is laid upon it. To ascertain this requires a little careful watching; but when it is ascertained, there should be See While the foundation of parental authority is thus laid, how many other great lessons is the mind of the child imbibing! Every time that it refrains from doing some forbidden thing which it desires, it is practising self-control, and self-denial, and is advancing a step towards the mastery of its passions. Some people talk about the management of children as if it were a science, and read all the books they can find to instruct them in it. Nothing is, however, in reality, more simple. Kindness, patience, undeviating firmness of purpose, and a strict regard to principle in all our dealings with them, (means which are within the reach of all) will, under God's blessing, accomplish all that can be done by early education towards regulating the heart and understanding. And thus they will be prepared to receive the seeds of those higher moral and religious principles, by which, as heirs of immortality, they are to be educated for a better and an endless life. quent, a large tree becomes to the inhabitants, especially if it grows near their dwellings, a precious object; and is equally respected with the far less admirable works of art with which the ancients covered those classic lands. Even among the Turks, says a traveller, "it is an enormous crime to cut down old trees, and all the neighbourhood would be ready to make any sacrifice to preserve the hospitable shade. I have often seen shops built beneath a great plane tree, which appeared to come out at the roof, and to cover them with leaves; and the walls were traversed by the branches which the owner feared to lop. Old trees are generally surrounded by a fence or bank, which serves to cover and defend them, and this inquire at the hands of our children, is a type of that the common fields where they do not belong to any one in particular." How far are we from such a conservative spirit !!! Happily the situation of the oak of Allonville, its consecration, and the reverence of the villagers, appear to ensure its peaceable existence, until it naturally yields to the destiny which is common to all things that live. At the deplorable period when every thing belonging to religion was condemned, the revolutionists, having come to Allonville to burn the oak, were vigorously opposed by the country people, and the sanctuary was preserved. As a monument at once of nature, of art, and of piety, the chapel-oak merits on all hands from naturalists that kind of pilgrimage which I have lately made, and which has given rise to this short memoir. [Translated and abridged from the original memoir by Professor MARQUIS, of the Botanic Garden, Rouen.] The entire submission which we are entitled to reobedience which we, on our part, owe to the Great Father of the universe. In terms sufficiently plain He has made known to us his will. Does it become us to ask Him why his will is such as we find it to be? why he has not done this thing or that thing differently from the manner in which it is done?— Just as reasonable is it in us to do this as it would be in our infant children to refuse obedience to our com mands, until their understandings should be sufficiently matured to enable them to comprehend the reasons for which they were given. I NEVER loved those salamanders, that are never well but when they are in the fire of contention. I will rather suffer a thousand wrongs than offer one: I will suffer an hundred, rather than return one: I will suffer many, ere I will complain of one, and endeavour to right it by contending. I have ever found, that to strive with my superiour is furious; with my equal, doubtful; with my inferiour, sordid and base; with any, full of unquietness.-BISHOP HALL. TRANSLATION OF THE LATIN HYMN O DAY of wrath! that dreadful day, When the wondrous trumpets' tone, O thou whose vengeance waits on sin, "That day of wrath, that dreadful day, ON EQUALITY. As to Equality, if by it be meant an Equality of property or condition, there is no such thing; nor was there ever such a thing in any country since the world began. The Scripture speaks of Pharaoh and his Princes in the time of Abraham, when he was forced by a famine to go down to Egypt, about 430 years after the flood. Abraham himself had, at that period, men servants, and maid servants, and was very rich in cattle, in silver and in gold. He and Lot had herdsmen and servants of various kinds; and they every where met with kings who had subjects and soldiers. The inequality of property and condition, which some silly or bad people are so fond of declaiming against, existed in the very infancy of the world, and must, from the nature of things, exist to the end of it. Suppose a ship to be wrecked on an uninhabited island, and that all the officers perished, but that the common men and their wives were saved; there, if any where, we may meet with liberty, equality, and the rights of man-what think you would be the consequence?-A state of Equality, and with it, of anarchy might, perhaps, subsist for a day; but wisdom, courage, industry, economy, would presently introduce a superiority of some over others; and in order that each man might preserve for himself the cabin he had built, the ground he had tilled, or the fish he had taken, all would agree in the propriety of appointing some one amongst the number, or more than one, to direct, govern, and protect the whole, by the common strength. Thus the restriction of liberty and the destruction of Equality, and all the circumstances which shallow reasoners represent as grievances in society, and subversive of the rights of man, would of necessity be introduced. No one would be left at liberty to invade his neighbour's property; some would by skill and activity become rich, and they would be allowed to bequeath, at their death, their wealth to their children; others would by idleness and debauchery remain poor, and having nothing to leave to their children, these, when grown up, would be under the necessity of maintaining themselves by working for their neighbours, till, by prudence and thrift, they acquired enough to purchase property of their own, on which they might employ their labour. It is a general law which God has established throughout the world, that riches and respect should attend prudence and diligence; and as all men are not equal in the faculties of either body or mind, by which riches or respect are acquired, a necessity of superiority and subordination springs from the very nature which God has given us.-BISHOP WATSON. MOST sure it is, and a true conclusion of experience, that a little natural philosophy inclineth the mind to atheism; but a further proceeding bringeth the mind back to religion.LORD BACON. Ir should be remembered, that the formation of virtuous habits, and the acquirement of a virtuous temper of mind, is the work of God's holy spirit, blessing our endeavours, answering our prayers, and gradually changing us into the likeness of our Maker. PRAYER is the peace of our spirit, the stillness of our thoughts, the evenness of recollection, the seat of meditation, the rest of our cares, and the calm of our tempest: prayer is the issue of a quiet mind, of untroubled thoughts; it is the daughter of charity, and the sister of meekness.-JEREMY TAYLOR. RELIGION deters not from the lawful delights which are taken in natural things, but teaches the moderate and regular use of them, which is far the sweeter; for things lawful in themselves, are in their excess sinful, and so prove bitterness in the end. And if in some cases it requires the forsaking of lawful enjoyment, as of pleasure, or profit, or honour, for God, and for his glory, it is generous and more truly delightful to deny things for this reason, than to enjoy them. Men have done much this way for the love of their country, and by a principle of moral virtue: but to lose any delight, or to suffer any hardship, for that highest end, the glory of God, and by the strength of love to him, is far more excellent and truly banishes; but it is to change them for joy that is unspeakably pleasant. The delights and pleasures of sin, religion indeed beyond them. It calls men from sordid and base delights, to those that are pure delights indeed. It calls to men,"Drink ye no longer of the cistern; here are the crystal streams of a living fountain. There is a delight in the very despising of sinful delights, as that, in comparison with them, shall end in eternal joy; it is a wonder we hasten not to the other deserves not the name, to have such spiritual joy as choose this joy: but it is indeed because we believe not."LEIGHTON. EDUCATION IN SCOTLAND, IT is not scholarship alone, but scholarship impregnated with religion, that tells on the great mass of society. We have no faith in the efficacy of mechanic institutes, or even of primary and elementary schools, for building up a virtuous and well conditioned peasantry, so long as they stand dissevered from the lessons of christian piety. There is a charm ascribed to the scholastic system of Scotland; and the sanguine imagination is, that by importing its machinery into England and Ireland, it will work the same marvellous transformation there, on the character of their people, that was experienced amongst ourselves. But it is forgotten, that a warm and earnest Christianity, was the animating spirit of all our peculiar institutions, for generations after they were framed; and that wanting this, they can no more perform the function of moralizing the people, than skeletons can perform the functions, or put forth the faculties of living men. The scholastic is incorporated with the ecclesiastical system of Scotland; and that, not for the purposes of intolerance and exclusion, but for the purpose of sanctifying education, and plying the boyhood of our land with the lessons of the Bible. The scholarship of mere letters, might, to a certain extent, have diffused intelligence amongst the people; but it is mainly to the presence of the religious ingredients, that the moral greatness of our peasantry is owing. -CHALMERS. MUSINGS ON WATERLOO BRIDGE. No; Waterloo shall be but as a dream, And nought shall live but one frail funeral stone, And heaven be mine, and heaven's eternal year; Of Him who for me lived, of Him who for me died. S. C. W. THE Governor may be deceived: or he may do wrong without being deceived: he beareth the sword, and may strike with it improperly. But if, to remedy an occasional inconvenience of this sort, you dissolve government, what will be the consequence? More mischief will be done by the people, thus let loose, in a month, than would be done by the governor in half a century.—BISHOP HORNE. Ir is not the pleasure of curiosity, nor the quiet of resolution, nor the raising of the spirit, nor victory of wit, nor faculty of speech, nor lucre of profession, nor ambition of honour or fame, or inablement for business, that are the true ends of knowledge.-Lord Bacon. How many instances there are, in which persons manifestly go through more pain and self-denial to gratify a vicious passion, than would have been necessary to the conquest of it. To this it is to be added, that when virtue is become habitual, when the temper of it is acquired, what was before continement, ceases to be so, by becoming choice and delight.BISHOP BUTLER. REASON is the test of ridicule, not ridicule the test of truth. -WARBURTON A YOUTHFUL understanding, a vigorous body, and senses in their perfection, are worth offering to that gracious God who is the author of them all; and if they are dedicated to his service, they will be blessed and accepted. But let no man flatter himself that God will be served by him who hath lost his capacity, and can serve nothing else: that he will accept of faculties worn out in the drudgery of sin and vanity, or that he will think himself honoured when the dregs of life are poured out upon his altar. Happy are they, who under the decay of nature and the approaches of death, can look back upon the piety of their youth, and remember the employment of those years which were spent in the remembrance of their Creator! To such the infirmities of age will bring no bitterness, and death itself will have no terrors! for they who have remembered God in their best days, shall be remembered by him in their worst; and be approved and accepted by him in that great day, when " he shall bring every work into judgment."-JONES of Nayland. WEST STRAND, Sept. 1832. BOOKS PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION * UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMoting chrisTIAN KNOWLEdge. 1. The BIBLE SPELLING BOOK. 2. The BIBLE LESSON BOOK. 3. ABRIDGMENT OF BIBLE HISTORY. 4. EXERCISES IN GRAMMAR. 5. EXERCISES IN ARITHMETIC. 6. EXERCISES IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 7. EXERCISES IN MODERN HISTORY. 8. EXERCISES IN ANCIENT HISTORY 9. EXERCISES IN GEOGRAPHY. 10. EXERCISES IN ASTRONOMY. 11. EXERCISES IN MECHANICS. 12. EXERCISES IN NATURAL HISTORY 18. VIEWS OF NATURE AND SOCIETY.-I. A Morning on the Mountains. 19. SCENES AND SKETCHES from BRITISH HISTORY, Vol. I 20. SADOC AND MIRIAM, a Jewish Tale. 21. A SYSTEM OF GEOGRAPHY. 22. ANCIENT HISTORY. 23. A HISTORY OF MOHAMMEDANISM. 26. BIOGRAPHY OF SACRED POETS. 28. THE BOTANY OF THE Bible. 30. ORIGINAL SERMONS, by the most DISTINGUISHED LIVING BISHOPS AND PASTORS OF THE CHURCH, fitted to be read in Families. Several of these Works form parts of Series, which will be continued from time to time. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. THE ALHAMBRA is an ancient fortress, or castellated palace of the Moorish kings of Granada, where they once held dominion in the romantic land of Spain, and made their last stand for empire in that part of the country. The palace occupies but a portion of the fortress, the walls of which, studded with towers, stretch irregularly round the whole crest of a lofty hill that overlooks the city, and forms a spur of the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy Mountain. of the walls is mosaic, disposed in fantastic knots and festoons. The porches resemble grotto-work; and one of them forms a whispering gallery. Opposite to the door by which you enter is another, leading into the Hall of the Lions; an oblong court, one hundred feet long, and fifty broad, encompassed by a colonnade, paved with white marble. The walls are covered, to the height of five feet, with blue and yellow tiles, and above and below is a border of small escutcheons, enamelled blue and gold, with Arabic columns that support the roof and gallery, are of white marble, very slender, fantastically adorned, and irregularly disposed. The capitals, also, are of various designs. Amidst the varieties of foliage, grotesques, and strange ornaments, there does not occur the slightest representation of animal life. In Moorish times the buildings were covered with large painted and glazed tiles, some of which still remain. In the time of the Moors, the fortress was capable of containing an army of 40,000 men within its pre-mottoes signifying, "No conqueror but God." The cincts, and served occasionally as a stronghold of the sovereigns against their rebellious subjects. The court by which you are first admitted into this splendid castle, called the Common Baths, is an oblong square, with a deep basin of clear water in the middle, into which is a descent by marble steps, and on each side a row of orange trees. A marble pavement runs down the court, and the arches surrounding the court are supported by pillars, in a style different from all the regular orders of architecture; and the ceiling and walls are incrusted with fret-work. In every division are written Arabic sentences, denoting "there is no conqueror but God;" and "obedience and honour to our sovereign." The ceilings are gilt or painted, and the colours still retain their freshness; the lower part VOL. I. In the centre of the court are twelve lions, bearing upon their backs an enormous basin, out of which rises another of smaller size. A volume of water is thrown up, falls into the basin, and, passing through these lions, is discharged out of their mouths into a reservoir, communicating by channels with the fountains in the apartments. This fountain is of white 15 | taste, and a disposition to indolent enjoyment. When marble, adorned with festoons, and Arabic sentences, Beyond the colonnade is a circular room, with a fountain, used by the men as a place for drinking coffee, &c. The form of this hall, the elegance of its cupola, the cheerful distribution of light from above, and the manner in which its beautiful ornaments are designed, painted, and finished, exceed all powers of description. In this delightful scene, it is said, Aboubdoulah assembled the Abençerages, and caused their heads to be struck off into the fountain. Opposite to this hall, called the Hall of the Abençerages, is the Tower of the Two Sisters, so called from two very beautiful pieces of marble, laid as flags in the pavement; measuring fifteen feet by seven and a half, and without flaw or stain. The gate exceeds all the rest in profusion of ornaments, and in beauty of prospect, which it affords through a range of apartments, where a multitude of arches terminate in a large window, open into the country. In a gleam of sunshine, the variety of tints and lights thrown upon this range is uncommonly rich. The outward walls of the towers are raised above the dome, and support another roof, so that no injury can be occasioned by wet weather, or excessive heat and cold. From this hall you pass round a little myrtle garden into an additional building, constructed by the Emperor Charles V, which leads to a small tower, called the Sultana's Dressing Room; in this is a large marble flag, penetrated with holes, through which the smoke of perfumes ascended from furnaces below. There are many other magnificent apartments, as the Ambassador's Hall, the Hall of Council, the Hall of Audience, &c. the whole of which are most beautifully and elaborately decorated, and in various places are written Arabic sentences, from the Koran. On the lower floor were the bed-chambers and summer rooms; fountains; the royal and other baths, with vaults for perfumes, and stoves and boilers for producing vapour; a whispering gallery; a labyrinth, the king's study, and the burial vaults of the royal family. In the retrospective view of this sumptuous palace, we need not wonder that the Moors thought of Granada with regret; and that they should still offer up prayers for the recovery of it, which they regard as a terrestrial paradise. Washington Irving, who visited this romantic place a few years ago, says "there is no part of the edifice that gives us a more complete idea of its original beauty and magnificence, than the Hall of the Lions, for none has suffered so little from the ravages of time. In the centre stands the fountain famous in song and story. The alabaster basins still shed their diamond drops; and the twelve lions, which support them, cast forth their crystal streams as in the days of Boabdil. The court is laid out in flower-beds, and surrounded by light Arabian arcades of open fillagreework, supported by slender pillars of white marble. The architecture, like that of all the other parts of the palace, is characterised by elegance rather than grandeur; bespeaking a delicate and graceful "There is a Moorish tradition, that the king who built this mighty pile was skilled in the occult sciences, and furnished himself with gold and silver for the purpose by means of alchymy. Certainly never was there an edifice accomplished in a superior style of barbaric magnificence; and the stranger who, even at the present day, wanders among its silent and deserted courts and ruined halls, gazes with astonishment at its gilded and fretted domes and luxurious decorations, still retaining their brilliancy and beauty, in spite of the ravages of time." WHEN the Sidonians were once going to choose a king, they determined that their election should fall upon the man who candidates, towards the hour of sun-rise, eagerly looked toshould first see the sun on the following morning. All the wards the East, but one, who, to the astonishment of his countrymen, fixed his eyes pertinaciously on the opposite side of the horizon, where he saw the reflection of the sun's rays before the orb itself was seen by those looking towards the reflection of the sun; and by the same reasoning, the inthe east. The choice instantly fell upon him who had seen fluence of religion on the heart is frequently perceptible in the conduct, even before a person has made direct profession of the principle by which he is actuated. "By their fruits ye shall know them." THE superiority of sex was never more rigidly enforced than CHINESE PRECEPTS. Respecting the Mind.-Let not corrupt thoughts arise. Be not over anxious and grieved. Envy not those who have, nor despise those who have not. Complain not of heaven, and blame not men. Think not of old evils, speculate not on distant things. ters. greatly intoxicated. Stand not in dangerous places. Do not Things in general.-Do not neglect the relations and duties of life. Do not practice corrupt things. Do not oppose the commands of your parents or teachers. Do not speak much. Provoke not a guest to anger. Between two parties do not speak swords here and flatteries there. Do not stir up troubles. Do not cut and carve the poor. Do not deceive and oppress the orphan and widow. Do not wrongfully accuse any one. Do not learn unprofitable things. Wealth.-Be not ashamed of bad food and coarse clothing. Do not buy useless things. Be not over fond of feasts. Do not learn to imitate the rich and great. Words. Do not talk of men's domestic affairs. Do not tell secrets. Do not conceal the errors of worthless men. Do affair. Do not bring up other men's concerns, (in conversanot injure a person's parents. Do not put a stop to any good tion). Do not laugh at men's appearance. Do not blame a man for the faults of his relatives. Be not fond of ridiculing any one. Do not make up stories to injure men. Be not proud of your wealth. Do not complain of your poverty. Do not speak with a fierce aspect. Do not despise men's poverty. Do not interrupt men in conversation Do not lie. Do not help and abet others to do iniquity. Do not recite corrupt composition. Do not speak of gambling or licentiousness. Do not say anything that has a beginning but no end. |