43 Those, on the other hand, whose ancestors have secured for them a great share of wealth, being freed from these necefsities, have no other stimulus for calling forth exertions, whether of body or of mind, but a desire of distinction alone; and this desire operates in so many ways, according to the impulse of the moment, as to be productive of an infinite variety of fantastic whims, and rediculous eccentricities. Its operations are too desultory and irregular to produce, almost in any case, that constancy of exertion which is necessary for the continuance of high health of body, or that tense application of mind, which alone can keep the animal spirits in full play at all times. The means of gratifying the appetites being always within reach, and no powerful calls to divert the attention from these pursuits, men in these circumstances, are tempted to indulge in them to excefs. Health is thus too often at an early period of life impaired, and happiness abated, by the frequent attacks of the worst of all its enemies, ennui. Fortunate, therefore, may those of this rank be deemed, who find their minds early imprefsed with an ardent love of knowledge, and an animating desire to render themselves conspicuous among men, for their literary progress, or polite acquirements. That plan of education, therefore, which fhall seem to be the best adapted to answer all the purposes of those of high rank and of middling station, whether by facilitating the acquisition of such branches of knowledge as are necefsary for the acquisition of wealth, or for guarding against the snares that usually environ those who are born to great affluence, and for stimulating them to an ardent exertion of all their faculties, would seem to be the very best that can be proposed. The artificial substitutes for bodily labour, in antient times, among the more opulent clafs of men, who confined to slaves only, the diurnal labours of the field, were gymnastic exercises while young, to fit them at an after period of life for the toils of the chase, or the destructive operations of war. In modern times, the only bodily exercises taught at schools, are dancing, fencing, and riding, (for I have not yet heard of boxing being taught in any academy,) which are adapted not lefs to give a gentility of air, an ease of motion, and an elegance of attitude to the fine gentleman, than to harden: the constitution, and promote good health. Fortunately, in this instance, fashion contributes her aid in promoting the beneficent intentions of nature; and care ought to be taken to encourage this as much as pofsible. These exercises, therefore, and every other that can be conveniently obtained, ought to be encouraged in every seminary for the education of youth. One of the greatest interruptions to the acquisition of knowledge, is the diversity of languages that prevails on the globe; and it becomes a painful part of every institution for the education of youth, to remove this troublesome impediment. The Greeks were the first people in Europe, who made a considerable progrefs in civilization and lite rature, and after them the Romans. From the Greeks, the Romans derived the rudiments of litera ry knowledge; and of course the study of the 3 Greek language was a necefsary branch of Roman education. From the Romans and the Greeks, all the nations of modern Europe have derived the rudiments of polite literature; the Greek and Latin languages, therefore, form a necessary part of the education of those who study polite literature in every part of Europe. These languages thus acquire a kind of adventitious merit, by forming a universal medium, by means of which the literati of all nations can keep up an intercourse with each other. For these reasons, and to enable one to enter into the disquisitions that occur daily among literary men, no person who aims at that character can dispense with these languages. They must therefore be taught in every seminary of liberal education. The oriental languages, in one of which is written the greatest part of the sacred volume, which every clergyman is bound to study, and the other kindred languages in which many other excellent writings exist, ought also to be there taught, that such as have occasion for these attainments may not be deprived of the means of acquiring them. But though the knowledge of these languages be necefsary to the gentleman and the divine, the knowledge of the modern languages that are now spoken in the different countries of Europe comes to be of even greater utility to the merchant and the man of business, and are equally indispensible for the accomplished gentleman, and the polite scholar. All of these therefore ought to be taught wherever a complete course of education is proposed to be gi yen, 1 The mere acquisition of languages however, it must ever be adverted to, is not the acquisition of knowledge. It is nothing more than the clearing the way for that acquisition; and it is much to be regretted that so much time and money must be expended in the acquisition of this preliminary. step, which can be called merely preparatory to the proper business of education; so that if any means could be devised for fhortening this initiatory process, and for rendering it more easy than it has hitherto been, so as not to interrupt the acquisition of other branches of useful knowledge suitable to the age and capacity of the pupil, we fhould make a very vaJuable improvement on the whole system of education. The plan I have now to offer proposes to unite all these advantages. While it will render the acquisition of foreign languages much more easy and pleasing to the learner, than any other system that has hitherto been devised; and would at the same time accustom the scholar to use these languages much more easily and correctly than usual; it would not interrupt the acquisition of other necefsary branches of education in the smallest degree; so that the pupil while he was advancing rapidly in the attainment of all the languages he inclined, would be at the same time going forward with as much rapidity in every other branch of study that was suited to his genius, circumstances, or inclination, as if he had never acquired a single word of any other language than his mother tongue. At the same time that it will thus facilitate the acquisition of those branches of knowledge that aré necefsary for the attainment of wealth to the man of business, the plan it is hoped will also be found to be equally calculated to preserve the young man of fortune from being early intoxicated with pleasure, or drawn astray by the allurements of vice. Intsead of the delusive seductions of early difsipation, the mind may be roused to exertions of the most vigorous sort by an emulation to excel, not by means of the adventitious aid of wealth, but by the more manly exertions of body and of mind, relying upon itself alone, for superiority in a fair contest with others in equal circumstances. In some future number of this work the particu lars of the plan fhall be submitted with due deference to the public, who will then be able to judge of its tendency, and to correct those defects to which in any particular it fhall be judged liable. ACCOUNT OF A MUSICAL PIGEON. For the Bee. In addition to the remarks on natural history by a AN odd thing, to which I was this morning a wit- |