should it not teach us a wholesome diffidence and humility, and compel us to confess that when we have done all, we are still ignorant, dim-sighted, and fallible; that our best reasonings may betray, and our wisest conclusions deceive us? The maxim to do good to all, to love mercy, and dispute not with the ignorant, is worthy of our attention.

Will and intellect should be so nicely balanced, that a grain of sense, or a drop of feeling, will either way turn the beam. The will is the man. But if there is little or no nervous power, how then? Our efforts are feeble and impotent. The roots of the will are in the body; that is, in the nervous centres. True-but sometimes they are, ab initio, very bad roots-of great tenuity-too gossamer-like for mighty efforts. True again: but may we ask-Can they not be braced? Assuredly they may; and we re-echo our sentiment-All those who are entrusted with the care of youth, must study the science of physiological education, and endeavour to improve the nerves, which we repeat are more particularly the man, because they rule the man, and pioneer him into all truth. Courage or cowardice are nearly always at our disposal; discretion, which is only another name for philosophy, is then comparatively easy. No wonder that under our present regime, men say what is very true, but what they do is very foolish; simply because these nervous sensations vary ad infinitum, viz., by diet, air, exercise, &c. A deep broad sympathy imbues sentiments and opinions; tenets and faith of all sorts have an unquestioned dominion.

Men believe by sympathy; for what no one has disputed, that is faith: yet all these are endlessly modified by

T

the diversified condition of the nervous sensations, which are much more under our control than men think. To possess a faculty to a degree, is one thing; to become morbid that it shall possess us, is another matter. It has been remarked, if Cleopatra's nose had been one-fifth of an inch shorter, it would have changed the destinies of nations. It will be obvious to the meanest professional capacity, that a few grains of acid in the stomach, the product of repletion, of men in power-absolute monarchs more particularly-would, a fortiori, decide the "to be or not to be," betwixt peace and the horrors of war; and yet those very persons who would concur in these opinions, shirk physical education, which might possibly prevent untold calamities now tolerated on so large a scale. For we may observe, that mankind are always more fastidious about that which is pleasing and transitory, than they are about what is useful and substantial.

There never was in the annals of time more morbid pietists than in the present era. Narcotics and stimulants are doing their behests to sap the basis-the origin of the vital functions; that is, the threads of sensation and volition. Again we assert-we are born, we die, and our end depends upon our origin and habitudes. No wonder we have so many superficial brawlers and twaddlers of every degree; no wonder selfish interests prevail over the principles of eternal truth, which are shoved aside, or despised, or forgotten, or perverted, or desecrated: whilst people possessed by the paltriest passions, proclaim themselves patriots, and liberty loathes to hear her name shouted by the veriest slaves. No wonder anger is out

of all proportion to the occasion. Let our dictators make precept and example harmonise. Fair-play's a jewelfoul's paste: does the public know the difference? We may fairly presume as there is such a large supply of quackery in the market, there must be a corresponding demand. As we have in another paper enlarged on this point, let this pass. Meanwhile, indulgent reader, before you agitate, agitate-cogitate, cogitate! Let us not forget that enlightened spirit and tolerant mind, Stephen Bathori, "whose wisdom was a mirror to the wisest." His favourite saying was, that "GOD had reserved three things to Himself the creation of something out of nothing, the knowledge of futurity, and the sole government of the conscience."

Educationists must mix more with the million; be the guardians of their liberties-the champions of their rights; catch the reflex re-percussion of bright beams from a people who judge slowly but surely. All this can be done without any sacrifice of personal dignity, without any degrading arts of popularity, without any truckling to vulgar prejudices, or concurrence in vulgar clamour: but by the steady influence of sincere and friendly counsel,-of fair, upright, genuine, generous deportment. Sins of omission such as these, from mediocre teachers, would be easily pardoned, were there the redeeming spirit of pure and high love of truth. The fact is, people-dreamers knitted together by cords of superstition-love the mud; they like flapping their wings in oozy shallows; and they equally like, when they discover they are soiled, to give vent to their heroic indignation in more ways than would

be pleasant or proper to describe, to the great astonishment of sober thinkers, who look to consequences and give timely warning. Would that professors were more pure or less pious!

Who

All true surgeons and physicians know it is better to clarify the blood by alteratives, rather than attack the tumour; to apply the emollient, rather than the cautery. It is not mere length of life, but intensity and universality of life, that constitute the immortality of the soul. It is high time to give less prominence to slender rills of Scripture truth, so passionately welcomed, and to return to the simplicity of Christianity. We can never appreciate fully the majesty of faith and truth, until we all better practise what we preach. What hinders us? We have a ready response-"Man is good, but men are wicked." assume an aristocratic tone, and talk superciliously of the common people? Let those who are standing on the eminence beware that the chasm is not mining at their feet. There can be no such thing in a free government as a vacuum; and whenever one is likely to take place by the drawing of the rich and the intelligent from the poor, the bad passions of society will rush in to fill up the space, and rend the whole asunder. Why are people criminal? Because the world (the senseless competitions of the aspiring, sometimes) will not suffer them to be virtuous. There is an extravagance that runs parallel with wealth— a reckless, lavish expenditure. We look upon this with a mixture of censure and concern. Rear the edifice of fair reasonable prosperity, but practise retrenchment; preserve honest pride; shun heartless dissipation. We re-echo our

query-Shew us the man who dare be singular: a peculiar person indeed he would be to the carnal heart. We should only be too happy to see one bona fide non-conformist. Men would seem to be strangers to the fact, that when doing what is right, the heart is easy, and becomes better every day; but when practising deceit-following custom's fraud, and fraud's custom"-the mind labours and every day gets worse. A little explained, a little endured, a little passed over as a foible; and, lo! the rugged atoms will fit like smooth mosaic. Few, however, have the moral heroism to walk alone, to act independently of others.

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The best recipe for longevity is to do the greatest amount of good to the greatest number; id. est, whilst living, live; irrigate, freshen, and fertilise the barren and rocky soils. Fontanelle lived to be nearly 100 years old. A lady of nearly equal age said to him one day, in a large company-"Monsieur, you and I stay here so long, that I have a notion Death has forgotten us." "Speak as low as you can, Madam," replied Fontanelle, "lest you should remind him of us." If you wish to increase the size and prominence of your eyes, just keep an account of the money you spend foolishly, and add it up at the end of the year. There are two kinds of insurance: a man who only spends 6d. per day for tobacco and alcoholic drinks, wastes in a year £9: 2: 6. This would defray the annual charge of a policy of insurance on his life for £500, beginning when he is 20 years. And yet, how many clever young แ snobs" prefer squandering their loose change at the Death Insurance offices!