Before the conclusion of this introduction, the Compiler takes the liberty to recommend to teachers, to exercise their pupils in discovering and explaining the emphatic words, and the proper tones and pauses, of every portion assigned them to read, previously to their being called out to the performance. These preparatory lessons, in which they should be regularly examined, will improve their judgment and taste; prevent the practice of reading without attention to the subject; and establish a habit of readily discovering the meaning, force, and beauty, of every sentence they peruse.

PART I.

PIECES IN PROSE.

CHAPTER I.

Select Sentences and Paragraphs,

CHAPTER II.

Narrative Pieces.

SECT. 1. No rank or possessions can make the guilty mind

happy,

2. Change of external condition often adverse to virtue,

3. Haman; or the misery of pride,

4. Lady Jane Grey,

5. Ortogrul; or the vanity of riches,

6. The hill of science,

7. The journey of a day; a picture of human life,

3. On forgiveness,

-

4. Motives to the practice of gentleness,

5. A suspicious temper the source of misery to its

possessor,

6. Comforts of religion,

7. Diffidence of our abilities a mark of wisdom,

8. On the importance of order in the distribution of

our time,

9. The dignity of virtue amidst corrupt examples,

10. The mortifications of vice greater than those of virtue,

14. Moderation in our wishes recommended,

15 Omniscience and omnipresence of the Deity, the

source of consolation to good men.

CHAPTER IV.

Argumentative Pieces.

SECT. 1. Happiness is founded in rectitude of conduct,

2. Virtue man's highest interest,

3. The injustice of an uncharitable spirit,

Srer. 4. The misfortunes of men mostly chargeable on them-

selves,

5. On disinterested friendship,

6. On the immortality of the soul,

CHAPTER V.

Descriptive Pieces.

SECT. 1. The seasons,

2. The cataract of Niagara, in Canada, North America,

3. The grotto of Antiparos,

4. The grotto of Antiparos continued,

5. Earthquake at Catanea,

6. Creation,

7. Charity,

8. Prosperity is redoubled to a good man,

9. On the beauties of the Psalms,

10. Character of Alfred, king of England,

11. Character of Queen Elizabeth,

12. On the slavery of vice,,

13. The man of integrity,

14. Gentleness,

SEOT. 1. Trial and execution of the Earl of Strafford,

2. An eminent instance of true fortitude of mind,

3. The good man's comfort in affliction,

101

102

103

4. The close of life,

104

5. Exalted society, and the renewal of virtuous connexions,

two sources of future felicity,

105

SACT. 1. Cieero against Verres,

their protection against Jugurtha,

121

2. Speech of Adherbal to the Roman Senate, imploring

124

3. The Apostle Paul's noble defence before Festus and

Agrippa,

126

SECT. 4. Lord Mansfield's speech in the House of Lords, 1770,

on the bill for preventing the delays of justice, by

claiming the privilege of parliament,

5. An address to young persons,

Page.

128

132

CHAPTER IX.

Promiscuous Pieces.

SECT. 1. Earthquake at Calabria, in the year 1638,

2. Letter from Pliny to Geminius,

3. Letter from Pliny to Marcellinus, on the death

amiable young woman,

4. On Discretion,

136

139

ib.

140

5. On the government of our thoughts,

143

6. On the evils which flow from unrestrained passions,

145

7. On the proper state of our temper, with respect to one

another,

146

148

8. Excellence of the Holy Scriptures,

9. Reflections occasioned by a review of the blessings,

pronounced by Christ on his disciples, in his sermon

on the mount,

10. Schemes of life often illusory,

149

150

11. The pleasures of virtuous sensibility,

12. On the true honour of man,

152

154

13. The influence of devotion on the happiness of life,

14. The planetary and terrestrial worlds comparatively

considered,

155

157

15. On the power of custom, and the uses to which it

may be applied,

16. The pleasures resulting from a proper use of our

faculties,

17. Description of candour,

18. On the imperfection of that happiness which rests

solely on worldly pleasures,

19. What are the real and solid enjoyments of human

life,

20. Scale of beings,

21. Trust in the care of Providence recommended,

22. Piety and gratitude enliven prosperity,

23. Virtue, when deeply rooted, is not subject to the in-

fluence of fortune,

24. The speech of Fabricius, a Roman ambassador, to

king Pyrrhus, who attempted to bribe him to his

interests, by the offer of a great sum of money,

25. Character of James I. king of England,

174

175

26. Charles V. emperor of Germany, resigns his dominions,

and retires from the world,

176

179

27. The same subject continued,

159

160

161

162

165

167

169

171

173

PART II.

PIECES IN POETRY.

CHAPTER 1.

Select Sentences and Paragraphs.

SECT. 1. Short and easy sentences,

2. Verses in which the lines are of different length,

3. Verses containing exclamations, interrogations, and

parentheses,

4. Verses in various forms,

5. Verses in which sound corresponds to signification,

6. Paragraphs of greater length,

CHAPTER II.

Narrative Pieces.

Page

182

184

185

187

189

191

SECT. 1. The bear and the bees,

2. The nightingale and the glow-worm,

3. The trials of virtue,

193

194

195

4. The youth and the philosopher,

196

6. Discourse between Adam and Eve, retiring to rest,

6. Religion and death,

198

200

CHAPTER III.

Didactic Pieces.

SECT. 1. The vanity of wealth,

3. On pride,

2. Nothing formed in vain,

4. Cruelty to brutes censured,

5. A paraphrase on the latter part of the 6th chapter

of Matthew,

6. The death of a good man a strong incentive to

virtue,

7. Reflections on a future state, from a review of

winter,

8. Adams advice to Eve, to avoid temptation,

9. On procrastination,

10. That philosophy, which stops at secondary causes,

reproved,

11. Indignant sentiments on national prejudices and hatred;

and on slavery,

202

203

ib.

204

205

206

207

208

209

210

211

CHAPTER IV.

Descriptive Pieces.

SECT. 1. The morning in summer,

212

2. Rural sounds, as well as rural sights, delightful,

213

3. The rose,

214