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because he is not under the necessity of endeavouring to impose upon the world by a false appearance of knowledge, which always indicates a deficiency in what is true and genuine. Ignorance alone pretends to infallibility, and it is indeed difficult to convince ignorance of a mistake.

The heart which is merely selfish, does not understand the language of benevolence, disinterestedness, and generosity, and therefore is very liable to misinterpret it; while those who feel themselves capable of great and worthy actions, will find no difficulty in believing that others may be so too, and will have an idea of a character, which can hardly ever be perfectly understood by those who feel nothing like it in themselves.-Miss Bowdler.

DEPENDENCE ON PROVIDENCE.

WHEN my breast labours with oppressive care,
And o'er my cheek descends the falling tear,
While all my warring passions are at strife,
Oh, let me listen to the words of life!
Raptures deep-felt His doctrines did impart,
And thus He raised from earth the drooping heart.

Think not, when all your scanty stores afford
Is spread at once upon the sparing board;
Think not, when worn the homely robe appears,
While on the roof the howling tempest bears,
What farther shall this feeble life sustain,
And what shall clothe these shivering limbs again.
Say, does not life its nourishment exceed?
And the fair body its investing weed?

Behold! and look away your low despair,

See the light tenants of the barren air:
To them, nor stores, nor granaries belong;
Nought but the woodland and the pleasing song:
Yet, your kind Heavenly Father bends his eye
On the least wing that flits along the sky.

To him they sing when spring renews the plain,
To him they cry, in winter's pinching reign;
Nor is their music nor their plaint in vain :
He hears the gay, and the distressful call;
And with unsparing bounty fills them all.

Observe the rising lily's snowy grace,
Observe the various vegetable race;

They neither toil, nor spin, but careless grow;
Yet see how warm they blush, how bright they glow.
What regal vestments can with them compare,
What king so shining, or what queen so fair?

If, ceaseless, thus the fowls of heaven He feeds;
If o'er the fields such lucid robes He spreads;
Will He not care for you, ye faithless say?

Is He unwise? or, are ye less than they?—Thomson.

THE WIND

WIND is produced by the expansion of the air by heat, and its condensation by cold. The heat of the sun expanding the air, and causing it to become lighter, it consequently ascends, while the circumambient air rushes in to supply its place. On this principle are those winds. accounted for, which within thirty degrees of the equator in each hemisphere, are constantly blowing. These are the trade winds, which, in some parts, blow for the space of six months in one direction, and during the six subsequent months in a direction completely opposite. That which blows in the northern hemisphere comes from the north-east, that in the southern hemisphere, from the south-east, and under these circumstances they are called monsoons. This variation in the trade winds is produced by the annual revolution of the earth round the sun, which causes the north pole to be directed towards that luminary one half of the year, and the south pole the other half,-one being the summer of the northern hemisphere, the other the summer of the southern.

We may often learn principles that can be applied to the investigation of nature from comparatively insignifi

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cant results. Artificial winds are constantly circulating through our houses. Smoke rises because it is mingled with hot air, and the deficiency of air which is thus produced in an apartment, is supplied by the cold air which | rushes through the crevices of the doors and windows. But our fires communicate, at the same time, an increased temperature to a portion of the air in the room, which, consequently rises; and it will always be found in every building, that the hottest air is at the top. On this account there are always two currents in a room, one outward, and another inward, as may be easily proved; for, if a lighted candle be placed near the top of the door, the flame will be blown outward by the heated current which is making its escape; and, if at the bottom, it will be blown inward by the cold current which is rushing in. The same process is going on in nature, on a larger scale, and the principle which explains the one is applicable to the other. Take the land and sea breezes, which occur in all the islands of the torrid zone, as a proof of this statement. During the hottest part of the day the winds set in from every direction towards the centre of the island; for, the sun's rays produce more heat by their reflection from land than from water. When the sun ceases to throw its rays upon the region, the land cools, and that portion of air, which had been heated by them will begin to descend, and currents will be produced off the land, occasioned by the spreading or equalization of the atmosphere.-Higgins.

NATURE.

NATURE never did betray
The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege,
Through all the years of this our life, to lead
From joy to joy: for she can so inform
The mind that is within us, so impress
With quietness and beauty, and so feed
With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues,
Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,

Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all
The dreary intercourse of daily life
Shall e'er prevail against us, or disturb
Our cheerful faith, that all which we behold
Is full of blessings. Therefore let the moon
Shine on thee in thy solitary walk;

And let the misty mountain winds be free
To blow against thee: and, in after years,
When these wild ecstacies shall be matured
Into a sober pleasure, when thy mind
Shall be a mansion for all lovely forms,
Thy memory be as a dwelling place

For all sweet sounds and harmonies; oh! then,
If solitude, or fear, or pain, or grief,

Should be thy portion, with what healing thoughts
Of tender joy wilt thou remember me,
And these my exhortations!-Wordsworth.

ON FEMALE EDUCATION.

We are too apt to overlook the end of education,—that it is the foundation of character-not the mere acquirement of knowledge, that is its legitimate purpose.

What a woman knows is comparatively of little importance to what a woman is. Let her mind be enlarged, and her information accurate; let her excel, if possible, in all that she does attempt, and we will find no fault with her, if her accomplishments be but few.

How delightful it is to meet with one whose mind is well stored with useful information; who is capable of tasting intellectual beauty, and of deciding with discretion in the emergencies of life; and who is, withal, destitute of pretension. And, on the contrary, what a sad specimen of folly it is, when a young woman is taught all conceivable accomplishments; and when their very number precludes the possibility of a proficiency in any. She has no taste, no love of knowledge, no real desire for improvement; her mind is a mere blank; she might as well have been employed (like her grand-mothers of old) in

copying receipts in half text, or working Adam and Eve upon a sampler.

Lessons are considered the sum of education. But though it is certainly very right to have a memory for dates, and a rhyme for the signs of the zodiac, there is more to be learnt in history than facts, and in science than terms. It is the use and application of knowledge that demands our chief attention.

Above all, what a mistake is this system with regard to religion! Yet, even in serious families, there is often too much of dry routine in religious instruction. It is communicated too much as a task, which is to be learnt, repeated, and then thrown aside. Whereas, the principle should pervade every thing. Religion should be the star to gild the young child's path, and to give zest even to her little pleasures. It should be the sunbeam to warm her tender heart, and cause it to expand towards its Creator. We may weary our children with religious instruction, but we shall never make them love religion in this way.

Youth is the season for fixing habits. We are very careful that our children should acquire no awkward tricks; that their manners should be well formed, and their movements gracefully regulated; but we are not always sufficiently careful as to the habitual tone and temper of their minds. To induce the love as well as the habit of occupation, to excite an interest at the same time that we accustom to study,―should be our continual endeavour; and whilst we deprecate the charlatanism that would teach every thing by cards and counters, we should relieve, as much as possible, the irksomeness of the task. This can only be done by being ourselves in earnest. Nothing is so infectious as enthusiasm of all kinds, and especially to young people. Children naturally imbibe the feelings of their parents. The little girl who is brought up in the country, and who sees those around her interested in its occupations, dreams of snowdrops and primroses, and thinks no plaything so delightful as a spade and a parterre. In like manner, if she is sure that her instructors themselves care for her progress; if she can believe that they sympathize with her, she naturally shares in their ardour,

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