to be wholly sublimated; and mortal soul seems to have flown to looks as if he heard, in anticipa- heaven. He portrays the life of tion, the music of the choirs the wicked man, and brings him above. With a solemnity, pecu- to the bed of death. He describes liarly his own, he arises and pours his agony, at the near prospect of out the effusions of his devotional meeting a judge, from whose desoul, to heaven in prayer. The cision there is no appeal. congregation are again called up

He makes the sinner tremble,

on to sing a "Song of Zion." While and ask " What he shall do to be this is performing, he is pondering saved." He leads him through a upon some great subject of Chris-life of transgression and guilt, and tian Doctrine, or Christian Mo- brings him to the bed of death, rality. When the song of praise rendered doubly agonizing by the is ended, he arises-and, opening torturing stings of conscience, the Bible, with a reverential awe, and the fear of heaven's wrath. which evinces his veneration for He describes his parting pang, the word which came from heaven, and dismisses him into the hand he reads with a tremulous voice,-- of divine justice.

He then changes the subject,

"Let me live the life of the righteous, that my last end may be like and his appearance seems to his." The lights around the desk change with it. The countenance, are then extinguished; and, as if which a few minutes before was his lips were touched with a spark enveloped in "shadows, clouds, from off the altar, he addresses the and darkness," seems to be illuassembly. Gathering strength, minated with a light from heaven. for his debilitated body, by the He describes the life of the aspirations of his pious soul, he "righteous" as tranquil, serene, addresses his audience like a mes. senger descended from heaven to teach men. He describes the life of the wicked, and the life of the

and happy. He brings him to the bed of death, and makes the angel of mercy hover over him. He describes his departure from this righteous. His manner and his "vale of tears," as the comlanguage, were Felix present, mencement of an eternity of hapwould make Felix tremble, and piness. He concludes his address. "almost persuade him to be a by entreating a merciful Creator, Christian." Although his mortal" to guide us through the gloomy part is before his audience, his im- valley of the shadow of death

that his power on one hand, and ed, no sumptuary laws could be his grace on the other, would con- prescribed, to set bounds to our vanity, or to limit the external duct us to the regions of everlasting display of our pride, and since felicity." nothing can prevent the majority Exhausted by mental exertion, of individuals from becoming comhe settles into his seat, and the paratively rich, and opulence seldom fails to encourage sensuality, congregation again sing "a song and stimulate to excessive enjoyof praise," and a Doxology. Hun-ment. To preach to a wealthy dreds of voices, in unison, pour people against an over indulgence forth the feelings of melting hearts of appetite for the good things of life, would be as fruitless as to "To Father, Son, and Holy- preach a restraint upon the aniHoly-preach Ghost!!" This devout man, with mal appetites, of the grossest eyes cast up to heaven, whither his kinds of quadrupeds :-but might soul seems to have been trans- it not reasonably be hoped that our rich folks, or the fools who, ported, dismisses the assembly, in order falsely to pass for rich, and retires to his abode, admiring his Maker, and admired by men.

SELECTED.

W.

[The following. from the pen of a "Southern Man," will not inaptly apply" to some of the good people of Connecticut. The little purse-proud, and brainempty fellows of our state, deserve lashing for their pomposity, as well as those in "The District of Columbia."]

expose themselves to real poverty, would content themselves with the gratification of those sensual passions in which they can indulge, without trespassing on the feelings of their fellows, and fill, fatten, and luxuriate to satiety, without making it a part of their enjoyment, (as the greater part of those who are able, systematically do,) to mortify those about them with affectation, arrogance, and supercilious pride. It is related of a person, who by hard industry in some of the lowest walks of life, and by penuriousness still harder, had amassed what was called in his country, a pretty penny of It has been for some years re- money, and had returned to his marked, that the manners of the native town in Scotland, to play people of the United States, are the great man for the rest of his becoming in a degree mortifying life that being in the course of to good and delicate minds, lofty events, raised to the office of Proand imperious. That a people vost, he was puffed with self conin our condition, should be luxu- sequence, on the strength of his rious, is natural, and indeed al- new dignity, to such an excess, most unavoidable, since so long that he sometimes indulged in that as we retain our liberty unimpair-worst of all arrogance, the occa

Ed.

:

sional affectation of humility; he Columbia, as badly, I had almost would shew the world, that he said worse, than in the city of was not so great a person as they London-and a man, with not imagined; and one day, on be- thousandth part of the skill of Laing approached, bonnet in hand, vater, may distinguish this sort by an old intimate of his poorer of fellows, as they walk the streets, days, graciously condescended to by their supercilious, disdainful say to him, "put on your hat Do- mien, as if they questioned the nald! nay put on your hat-I am rights of their humbler fellow-cistill but a man." This contempti- tizens to breathe the same atble display of arrogance, it is mosphere with them. Sometimes which makes the great distinction one meets a man so stately in his in England, between the new deportment, that if it were not for made London grub, and the dig-an incurable vulgarity in his nified country gentleman-the aspect, he might pass upon stransaucy Nabob, and the simple un-gers for the leader of victorious affected proprietor of old family armies, or the governour of states acres: and this it is, which after or nations; and those who know being exposed to derision and the real character of the man, are abhorrence, with its innumerable only relieved from anihilation, by airs, and baboon tricks, in come- the sense that his pompous air condies, farces, and novels, is taken ceals a mean spirit, and that his up by distant apes, and mimicked solemn, supercilious countenance as if it were really any part of is but assumed, as a veil for his igthe distinguishing characteristic of norance and insignificance. people of real rank and fashion. Man is by nature, sociable and friendly to man; and where no opposition of interests exists, rarely harbours any malice or hostile disposition to his fellow crea- Like a Colossus; and we, petty men tures; but the detestable spirit Walk under their huge legs, and peep about of that most detestable of all things, a monied aristocracy, rai-a loop hole to pass by them, withses a barrier more impassible than out being crushed against the wall, malice or envy themselves could or jostled into the kennel. erect, between the new made rich Another assumes, perhaps, a and the humble, and seems to have reserved and distant air, lest I impressed the dollar-holders, with should claim him as an acquaintan opinion, that they are, by the ance; for perhaps there is no part mere virtue of their of the world-no, not that head money, translated into another and superiour quarter of purse-proud vanispecies of beings; or to borrow ty, Bath, in Old England itself, the idea of the Scotch Provost, where the Tepino-phobia, or dread above named, that they are no of low acquaintance, rages more longer men. This pestilence of furiously than among the cash the heart, rages in the District of dealers of this country of ours. Vol. I.

21

Such are the vast numbers of those colossal minions of usury and avarice, who strut about our streets as if they would

"Bestride the narrow world

To find ourselves."

Another man, with eyes fixed, | In the following extravagantly
looks straight forward, and though humourous style, he shows the
reason why HERACLITUS was sup-
posed to weep over the follies of
his fellow creatures.
Heraclitus would never deny

our skirts touch as we pass, seems
unconscious that any one is near
him, or at least, any worth his no-
tice. A third affects to be near
sighted, and though we have met
perhaps, and even conversed on
several occasions, he has not the
honour to recollect me
or my
name. All these are different
stratagems of pride and self im-
portance, which though not redu-
cible to the precise rules of quar-
relling, like the lie direct," for
which we can call a man to ac-
count, yet may, and ought to be
resented, if the offender were not
rescued from resentment, by his
utter contemptibility and insigni-

ficance."

THE LAUGHING AND WEEPING

PHILOSOPHER.

A bumper to cherish his heart;
But when he was fuddled would cry,
Because he had emptied his quart.
Yet some were such fools as to think,
He wept for man's folly and vice,
was only his custom to drink,
'Till the liquor gush'd out of his eyes.
Ed.

It

DEMOCRITUS and HERACLITUS.

Democritus. I find it impossible to reconcile myself to a melancholy philosophy.

Heraclitus. And I am equally unable to approve of that vain philosophy, which teaches men to despise and ridicule one another. To a wise and feeling mind, the world appears in a wretched and painful light.

Dem. Thou art too much affected with the state of things; and this is a source of misery to thee.

Her. And I think thou art to

[The following Dialogue is from the pen of FENELON, Archbishop of Cambray, and what adds a higher claim to admiration, he little moved by it. Thy mirth and was a good scholar, and a benevo- ridicule bespeak the buffoon, lent man. Many of our readers will recollect an humourous poem, tracing the "Origin of Philoso. phy," to "the juice of the vine." The writer thus describes DEMO

CRITUS

Democritus ever was glad,

To tipple,and cherish his soul,
He would laugh like a man who was mad,
When over a jolly full bowl.
While bis cellar with wine was well stor'd,
The liquor he'd merrily quaff;
And when he was blue as a lord,

At those who were sober he'd laugh.

rather than the philosopher. Does it not excite thy compassion, to see mankind so frail, blind, so far departed from the rules of virtue?

Dem. I am excited to laughter, when I see so much impertinence and folly.

Her. And yet, after all, they, who are the objects of thy ridicule, include, not only mankind in general, but the persons whom thou livest, thy friends, thy family, nay, even thyself.

with

Dem. I care very little for all the silly persons I meet with: and think I am justifiable in diverting myself with their folly.

Her. If they are weak and foolish, it marks neither wisdom nor humanity, to insult rather than pity them. But is it certain, that thou art not as extravagant as they are?

the same hopes and privileges? If thou shouldest enter a hospital, where sick and wounded persons reside, would their wounds and distresses excite thy mirth? and yet, the evils of the body bear no comparison with those of the mind. Thou wouldest certainly blush at thy barbarity, if thou hadst been so unfeeling as to laugh at or despise a miserable being who had lost one of his legs!; and yet thou art so destitute of humanity, as to ridicule those, who Her. There are follies of dif- appear to be deprived of the noferent kinds. By constantly amu-ble powers of the understanding, sing thyself with the errors and by the little regard which they misconduct of others, thou may-pay to its dictates.

Dem. I presume that I am not ; since, in every point, my sentiments are the very reverse of theirs.

est render thyself equally ridiculous and culpable.

Dem. He who has lost a leg is to be pitied, because the loss is not to be imputed to himself; but he who rejects the dictates of reason and conscience, voluntarily deprives himself of their aid. The loss originates in his own folly.

Dem. Thou art at liberty to indulge such sentiments; and to weep over me too, if thou hast any tears to spare. For my part, I cannot refrain from pleasing myself with the levities and ill conduct of the world about me. Are not all men foolish or irregu-ac, who should pluck out his lar in their lives? own eyes, would deserve more compassion than an ordinary blind man.

Her. Ah! so much the more is he to be pitied! a furious mani

Her. Alas! there is but too much reason to believe, they are so and on this ground I pity and Dem. Come, let us accomdeplore their condition. We modate the business. There is agree in this point, that men do something to be said on each side not conduct themselves accord- of the question. There is every ing to reasonable and just prin- where reason for laughing, and ciples; but I,who do not suffer my-reason for weeping. The world self to act as they do, must yet re- is ridiculous, and I laugh at it; gard the dictates of my under- it is deplorable, and thou lamentstanding and feelings, which com- est over it. Every person views pel me to love them; and that it in his own way, and according love fills me with compassion for to his own temper. One point is their mistakes and irregularities. unqestionable, that mankind are Canst thou condemn me for pity-preposterous; to think right, and ing my own species, my breth to act well, we must think and ren, persons born in the same act differently from them. Το condition of life, and destined to submit to the authority, and