of vice; if the associates of youth pour contempt on the liar; he will soon hide his head with shame, and most likely leave off the practice."(Pp. 24, 25.)

The objection which Mrs. Trimmer makes to this passage is, that it is exalting the fear of man above the fear of God. This observation is as mischievous as it is unfounded. Undoubtedly, the fear of God ought to be the paramount principle from the very beginning of life, if it were possible to make it so; but it is a feeling which can only be built up by degrees. The awe and respect which a child entertains for its parent and instructor, is the first scaffolding upon which the sacred edifice of religion is reared. A child begins to pray, to act, and to abstain, not to please God, but to please the parent, who tells him that such is the will of God. The religious principle gains ground from the power of association and the improvement of reason; but without the fear of man—the desire of pleasing, and the dread of offending those with whom he lives,—it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to cherish it at all in the mind of children. If you tell (says Mr. Lancaster) a child not to swear, because it is forbidden by God, and he finds every body whom he lives with addicted to that vice, the mere precept will soon be obliterated; which would acquire its just influence if aided by the effect of example. Mr. Lancaster does not say that the fear of man ever ought to be a stronger motive than the fear of God, or that, in a thoroughly formed character, it ever is: he merely says, that the fear of man may be made the most powerful mean to raise up the fear of God;

and nothing, in our opinion, can be more plain, more sensible, or better expressed, than his opinions upon these subjects. In corroboration of this sentiment, Mr. Lancaster tells the following story :—

"A benevolent friend of mine (says he), who resides at a village near London, where he has a school of the class called Sunday Schools, recommended several lads to me for education. He is a pious man, and these children had the advantage of good precepts under his instruction in an eminent degree, but had reduced them to very little practice. As they came to my school from some distance, they were permitted to bring their dinners; and, in the interval between morning and afternoon school hours, spent their time with a number of lads under similar circumstances in a play-ground adjoining the school-room. In this play-ground the boys usually enjoy an hour's recreation; tops, balls, races, or what best suits their inclination or the season of the year; but with this charge, 'Let all be kept in innocence.' These lads thought themselves very happy at play with their new associates; but on a sudden they were seized and overcome by numbers, were brought into school just as the people in the street would seize a pickpocket, and bring him to the police office. Happening at that time to be within, I inquired, 'Well, boys, what is all this bustle about?'- Why, Sir (was the general reply), these lads have been swearing. This was announced with as much emphasis and solemnity as a judge would use in passing sentence upon a criminal. The culprits, were, as may be supposed, in much terror.

After the examination of witnesses and proof of the facts, they received admonition as to the offence; and, on promise of better behaviour, were dismissed. No more was ever heard of their swearing; yet it was observable, that they were better acquainted with the theory of Christianity, and could give a more rational answer to questions from the Scripture, than several of the boys who had thus treated them, on comparison, as constables would do a thief. I call this (adds Mr. Lancaster) practical religious instruction, and could, if needful, give many such anecdotes.”—(Pp. 26, 27.)

All that Mrs. Trimmer has to observe against this very striking illustration of Mr. Lancaster's doctrine is, that the monitors behaved to the swearers in a very rude and unchristianlike manner. She begins with being cruel, and ends with being silly. Her first observation is calculated to raise the posse comitatus against Mr. Lancaster-to get him stoned for impiety; and then, when he produces the most forcible example of the effect of opinion to encourage religious precept, she says such a method of preventing swearing is too rude for the Gospel. True, modest, unobtrusive religion -charitable, forgiving, indulgent Christianity, is the greatest ornament and the greatest blessing that can dwell in the mind of man. But if there be one character more base, more infamous, and more shocking than another, it is he who, for the sake of some paltry distinction in the world, is ever ready to accuse conspicuous persons of irreligion-to turn common informer for the Church-and to convert the most beautiful

feelings of the human heart to the destruction of the good and great, by fixing upon talents the indelible stigma of irreligion. It matters not how trifling and how insignificant the accuser; cry out that the Church is in danger, and your object is accomplished; lurk in the walk of hypocrisy, to accuse your enemy of the crime of atheism, and his ruin is quite certain; acquitted or condemned, is the same thing; it is only sufficient that he be accused, in order that his destruction be accomplished. If we could satisfy ourselves that such were the real views of Mrs. Trimmer, and that she were capable of such baseness, we would have drawn blood from her at every line, and left her in a state of martyrdom more piteous than that of St. Uba. Let her attribute the milk and mildness she meets with in this review of her book, to the conviction we entertain, that she knew no better-that she really did understand Mr. Lancaster as she pretends to understand him—and that, if she had been aware of the extent of the mischief she was doing, she would have tossed the manuscript spelling-book in which she was engaged into the fire, rather than have done it. As a proof that we are in earnest in speaking of Mrs. Trimmer's simplicity, we must state the objections she makes to one of Mr. Lancaster's punishments. "When I meet," says Mr. Lancaster, "with a slovenly boy, I put a label upon his breast; I walk him round the school with a tin or a paper crown upon his head." "Surely," says Mrs. Trimmer (in reply to this), "surely it should be remembered, that the Saviour of the world was crowned

with thorns in derision, and that this is a reason why crowning is an improper punishment for a slovenly boy!!!"

Rewards and Punishments.-Mrs. Trimmer objects to the fear of ridicule being made an instrument of education, because it may be hereafter employed to shame a boy out of his religion. She might, for the same reason, object to the cultivation of the reasoning faculty, because a boy may hereafter be reasoned out of his religion : she surely does not mean to say that she would make boys insensible to ridicule, the fear of which is one curb upon the follies and eccentricities of human nature. Such an object it would be impossible to effect, even if it were useful. Put a hundred boys together, and the fear of being laughed at will always be a strong influencing motive with every individual among them. If a master can turn this principle to his own use, and get boys to laugh at vice, instead of the old plan of laughing at virtue, is he not doing a very new, a very difficult and a very laudable thing?

When Mr. Lancaster finds a little boy with a very dirty face, he sends for a little girl, and makes her wash off the dirt before the whole school; and she is directed to accompany her ablutions with a gentle box of the ear. To us, this punishment appears well adapted to the offence; and in this, as in most other instances of Mr. Lancaster's interference in scholastic discipline, we are struck with his good sense, and delighted that arrangements apparently so trivial, really so important, should have fallen under the attention of so ingenious and so