erable means, in oppofition to all the wit and power of the world, and under fuch difcouragement as no other religion was ever affaulted with; let any man bring forth fuch a book, and he hath my leave to believe it as foon as the bible.

4. But if there be none fuch, as I am well affured there is not, then every one who thinks God hath revealed himfelf to men, ought to embrace and entertain the doctrine of the holy fcriptures, as revealed by God.

J.

染

CHAPTER LIV.

"HOW SHOULD I WORK IT ?"Addressed to Parents.

A

RE you a parent? then you have a hard task to be both the friend and the mafler of your children; and if you are not both, you do not work it right. Sometimes you are the fond, indulgert parent; nothing is too good for the darling; he may pout and ftrike, or kick over the tea kettle, cups and glaffes; and you would just mod. erately fay, "Why, Billy, how you behave; that is not pretty; I shan't love you for that."

2. At other times you are in a pet, and the child by accident, in mere play, or in attempting to drink, lets fall a tumbler, or a tea-cup; you fly at him, fall on him like a mastiff, cuff his ears, and thake him to a jelly. In the first cafe, you are the weak, filly dupe of your child; in the laft, you are the tyrant, the madman; thus you do not work it right.

3. Hear what the Prompter fays. Never frike in a paffion; never punish him for accidental mischief; never fail to punih him for obfinate difobedience, and wilful mifchief; and a word to you in particular; when you have real caufe to correct him, never ceafe, till his temper gives way, and he becomes really fubmiffive. A fingle blow or two only raises his anger and increafes wilful obftinacy; if you quit him then, you do hurt, rather than good. But if you continue to apply the rod, till his mind bends and foftens down to humble fupplication, believe me, that child will rarely or never want a fecond correction; the Prompter has tried it in repeated inftances.

4. But, fay fome folks, the rod should be fparingly used. True, but as most people use it, one correction only makes

way for another, and frequent whippings harden the child till they have no effect. Now mind the Prompter, Two Simple rules, if obferved, will prevent this. ist. Never pun

ifh a child when he does not deserve it. 28. When he does deferve it, make the first punishment EFFECTUAL. If you ftrike a child for accidental mifchief, or for what he does ignorantly, or in good humour, the child is not confcious he has done wrong; he is grieved at first; if such punishment is frequent, it excites indignation; he is angry with his parent, and thinks him cruel; then correction does more hurt than good, and all this because parents do not work it right.

5. I fincerely believe that nine times out of ten, the bad conduct of children is owing to parents! yet parents father most of it upon Adam and old Nick. Parents then do not work it right; they work it thus-a child wants an apple, and a child is governed by appetite, not by reafon ; the parent fays he must not have it, but he fays it with a fimple, unmeaning tone of voice, that makes no impref fion upon the child. The child cries for the apple; the parent is angry, and tells him, he ha'nt have the apple; the child bawls, and perhaps ftrikes his little brother, or throws down a glafs in anger. At this the parent is tired with the noife, and to appease the child, gives him the apple. Does this parent work it right ?

6. So far from it, that he lofes the little authority he had over the child. The order of things is changed. The child is the mater; and when the child has been master a few months, you may as well break his neck as his will. A thousand lashes on a young master's back will not do fo much as one decifive command, before he becomes mafter of his parents.

A child

7 Now listen to my advice, the idea is new. does not regard fo much what a parent says, as how he fays it. A child looks at a parent's eye, when he speaks, and then he reads intuitively what his parent means, and how much he means, If a parent fpeaks with an air of indifference, without emphafis, or looks another way when he fpeaks, the child pays but little, or no regard to what he fays. I speak of a child over whom a parent has not yet established an authority. But if a parent, when he commands a child to do or not to do, looks at him with the eye

of command, and fpeaks with a tone and an air of decifionand authority, the child is impreffed with this manner of commanding, and will feldom venture to disobey.

8. A fteady, uniform authority of this kind, which nev. er varies from its purpofe, which never gives way to the caprices or appetites of children, which carries every command into effect, will prevent the neceffity of a rod. I am bold to fay, that a parent, who has this fteady authority, will never have occafion to correct a child of common fenfibility; and never but once, a child of uncommon obftinacy. This is the way every parent and master should work it.

T

CHAPTER LV.

PLEASURE AND PAIN.

HERE were two families, which from the begin ning of the world were as oppofite to each other as light and darkness. The one of them lived in Paradise, the other in the regions below. The youngest defcendant of the first family was Pleasure, who was the daughter of Happinefs, who was the child of Virtue, who was the off fpring of the gods. These, as I faid before, had their habitation in paradife. The youngest of the oppofite family was Pain, who was the foa of Misery, who was the child of Vice, who was the offspring of the Furies. The habitation of this race of beings was in the lower regions.

2. The middle ftation of nature between these two oppofite extremes was the Earth, which was inhabited by. creatures of the middle kind, neither fo virtuous as the one, nor fo vicious as the other, but partaking of the good and bad qualities of these two oppofite families. Jupiter, confidering that the fpecies commonly called man, was too virtuous to be miferable, and too vicious to be happy; that he might make a distinction between the good and the bad, ordered the two youngest of the above mentioned fam Pies. Pleasure, who was the daughter of Happiness, and Pain, who was the fon of mifery, to meet one another up: on this part of nature which lay in the half-way between them, having promised to fettle it upon them both, provi ded they could agree upon the divifion of it, fo as to hare mankind between them.

3. Pleasure and Pain were no fooner met in their new Iabitation, but they immediately agreed upon this point, that Pleafure should take poffeffion of the virtuous, and Pain of the vicious part of that fpecies, which is given up to them But upon examining, to which of them any individual they met with belonged, they found each of them had a right to him; for that, contrary to what they had feen, in their old places of refidence, there was no períon fo vicious who had not fome good in him, nor any perfon fo virtuous who had not in him fome evik The truth of it is, they generally found upon fearch, that in the molt vicious man pleasure might lay claim to an hundredth part, and that in the most virtuous man Pain might come in. for at least two thirds.

4. This they faw would occafion endlefs difputes be tween them, unless they could come to some accommodation. To this end there was a marriage propofed between them, and at length concluded. By this means it is that we find Pleasure and Pain to be fuch conftant yoke-fel-> lows, and that they either make their vifits together, or are never far afunder. If Pain comes into an heart, he is quickly followed by Pleafure; and if Pleajure enters, you may be fare Pain is not afar off.

3

5. But notwithstanding this marriage was very conven ient for the two parties, it did not feem to anfwer the intention of Jupiter in fending them among mankind. To remedy therefore this inconvenience, it was-ftipulated between them by article, and confirmed by the confent of each family, that notwithstanding they here poffeffedthe fpecies indifferently, upon the death of every fingle perfon, if he was found to have in him a certain proportion of Evil, he should be dispatched into the infernal regions by a paffport from Pain, there to dwell with Mifery, Vice, and tile Furies. Or on the contrary, if he had in him a certain proportion of Good, he should be difpatched into heaven by a paffport from Pleasure, there to dwell with Virtue, Happiness, and the Gods.

I.

CHAPTER LVI.

NATURE AND EDUCATION—A Fable

ATURE and Education were one day walking to

Ngether through a marfery of trees. See, fays Na

ture, how ftraight and fine thofe firs grow; that is my do

Ing! But as to those oaks, they are all stinted and crocked; that, my good fifter, is your fault. You have planted them too close, and not pruned them properly. Nay, fister, faid Education, I am fure I have taken all poffible pains about them; but you gave me bad acorns, so how fhould they ever make fine trees?

2. The difpute grew warm; and at length, instead of blaming one another for negligence, they began to boast of their own powers, and to challenge each other to a conteft for the fuperiority. It was agreed that each should adopt a favorite, and rear it up in fpite of all the ill-offices of her opponent. Nature fixed upon a vigorous young pine, the parent of which had grown to be the main-matt of a man of war. Do what you will to this plant, faid The to her filter, I am refolved to push it up as straight as an arrow. Education took under her care a crabtree. This, faid the, I will rear to be at least as valuable as your pine.

3. Both went to work. While Nature was feeding her gine with plenty of nutritive juices, Education paffed a Itrong rope round its top, and pulling it downwards with all her force, faltened it to the trunk of a neighbouring oak. The pine laboured to afcend, but not being able to furmount the obstacle, it pushed out to one fide, and prefently became bent like a bow. Still, fuch was its vigor, that its top, defcending as low as its branches, made a new shoot upwards; but its beauty and usefulness were quite destroyed.

4. The crab-tree colt Education much toil and trouble. She pruned and pruned again, and endeavoured to bring it into shape, but all in vain. Nature thrust out a bough this way, and a knot that way, and would not push a single fhoot upwards. The trunk was, indeed, kept tollerably ftraight by constant efforts; but the head grew awry and ill-fashioned, and made a fhabby figure. At length Education, defpairing to make a fightly plant of it, ingrafted the stock of an apple, and brought it to bear good fruit.

5. At the end of the experiment, the fifters met to compare their respective fuccefs. Ah! fifter, faid Na ture, I fee it is in your power to spoil the best of my works. Ah! filter, faid Education, it is a hard matter to contend against you; however, fomething may be done by taking pains enough.