to tread back the ground which he had passed, and try to find some issue, where the wood might open into the plain. He prostrated himself upon the ground, and commended his life to the Lord of nature.

10. He rose with confidence and tranquillity,' and pressed on with his saber in his hand; for the beasts of the desert were in motion, and on every hand were heard the mingled howls of rage and fear, and ravage' and expiration: all the horrors of darkness and solitude surrounded him ;-the wind roared in the woods, and the torrents tumbled from the hills.

11. Thus forlorn and distressed, he wandered through the wild, without knowing whither he was going, or whether he was every moment drawing nearer to safety or to destruction. At length, not fear but labor began to overcome him; his breath grew short, and his knees trembled, and he was on the point of lying down, in resignation to his fate, when he beheld, through the brambles, the glimmer of a taper. He advanced toward the light, and finding that it proceeded from the cottage of a hermit, he called humbly at the door, and obtained admission. The old man set before him such provisions as he had collected for himself, on which Obidah fed with eagerness and gratitude.

12. When the repast was over, "Tell me," said the hermit, "by what chance thou hast been brought hither; I have been now twenty years an inhabitant of the wilderness, in which I never saw a man before." Obidah then related the occurrences of his journey, without any concealment or palliation.*

13. "Son," said the hermit, "let the errors and follies, the dangers and escapes of this day, sink deep into thy heart. Remember, my son, that human life is the journey of a day. We rise in the morning of youth, full of vigor, and full of expectation; we set forward with spirit and hope, with gayety and with diligence, and travel on awhile in the straight road of piety, toward the mansions of rest.

14. "In a short time we remit our fervor, and endeavor to

1 Trăn quil' lĩ tỷ, peace; quiet; freedom from care or trouble.

2 Răvage, violent ruin or destruction; havoc.

3 Ex`pi ra' tion, a breathing out or expulsion of air from the lungs

through the mouth or nose; the last act of breathing out; death.

1 Păl`li a' tion, concealment of the worst circumstances of an offense; lessening by favorable description.

find some mitigation' of our duty, and some more easy means of obtaining the same end. We then relax our vigor, and resolve no longer to be terrified with crimes at a distance, but rely upon our own constancy,' and venture to approach what we resolve never to touch.

15. "We thus enter the bowers of ease, and repose in the shades of security. Here the heart softens, and vigilance' subsides; we are then willing to inquire whether another advance can not be made, and whether we may not, at least, turn our eyes upon the gardens of pleasure. We approach them with scruple and hesitation; we enter them, but enter timorous and trembling, and always hope to pass through them without losing the road of virtue, which we for awhile keep in our sight, and to which we propose to return. But temptation succeeds temptation, and one compliance prepares us for another; we in time lose the happinèss of innocence, and solace our disquiet with sensual gratifications.

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16. "By degrees we let fall the remembrance of our original intention, and quit the only adequate' object of rational desire. We entangle ourselves in business, immerge ourselves in luxury, and rove through the labyrinths of inconstancy,' till the darknèss of old age begins to invade us, and disease and anxiety obstruct our way. We then look back upon our lives with horror, with sorrow, with repentance; and wish, but too often vainly wish, that we had not forsaken the ways of virtue.

17. "Happy are they, my son, who shall learn from thy example not to despair, but shall remember, that though the day is past, and their strength is wasted, there yet remains one effort to be made; that reformation is never hopeless, nor sincere en

1 Mĭt`i ga' tion, softening; making easier or milder.

2 Cŏn'stan cy; the quality of being constant or steadfast; freedom from change; fixedness of mind.

'Vigilance, watchfulness.

"Adequate, equal; fully suffi

cient.

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• Lǎb' y rìnth, a labyrinth, among the ancients, was a building made with many winding passages, so that a person could hardly avoid

• Sub sides', falls into a state of being lost. Hence, any difficult quiet; rests; ceases.

windings or ways; any thing that is

B Sŏl' ace, to cheer in grief; to much entangled or very perplexing. comfort; to allay. 'In con' stan cy, a want of fixed

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• Sensual, (sen ́shỏ al), lewd; pleas- ness or firmness of mind; unsteadi. ing to the senses; bodily. ness; fickleness.

deavors ever unassisted; that the wanderer may at length return, after all his errors; and that he who implores strength and courage from above, shall find danger and difficulty give way before him. Go now, my son, to thy repose; commit thyself to the care of Omnipotence;' and when the morning calls again to toil, begin anew thy journey and thy life."

A

IV.

53. ON THE WASTE OF LIFE.

DR. JOHNSON.

MERGUS was a gentleman of good estate : he was bred to no business, and could not contrive how to waste his hours agreeably; he had no relish for any of the proper works of life, nor any taste for the improvement of the mind; he spent generally ten hours of the four-and-twenty in bed; he dozed away two or three mōre on his couch; and as many more were dissolved in good liquor every evening, if he met with company of his own humor. Thus he made a shift to wear off ten years of his life since the paternal' estate fell into his hands.

2. One evening, as he was musing ălōne, his thoughts happened to take a most unusual turn, for they cast a glance backward, and he began to reflect on his manner of life. He be thought himself what a number of living beings had been made a săcrifice to support his carcass, and how much corn and wine had been mingled with these offerings; and he set himself to compute what he had devoured since he came to the age of man.

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3. "About a dozen feathered creatures, small and great, have, one week with another," said he, "given up their lives to prolong mine, which, in ten years, amounts to at least six thousand. Fifty sheep have been sacrificed in a year, with half a hecatomb' of black-cattle,' that I might have the choicest parts offered weekly upon my table. Thus a thousand beasts, out of the

1 Om nĭp' o tence, almighty power; God.

› Paternal, (på tårnal), belonging to or derived from one's father.

*Sacrifice, (såk' ri fiz), destruction or surrender of anything, made for the sake of something else; the

thing destroyed or given up.

'Hěcí a tomb, the sacrifice of a hundred.

• Blǎck'-cat tle, cows, bulls, and oxen, as distinguished from sheep and goats, which are called small cattle.

flock and the herd, have been slain in ten years' time to feed me, besides what the forest has supplied me with.

4. "Many hundreds of fishes have, in all their variety, been robbed of life for my repast,' and of the smaller fry, some thousands. A measure of corn would hardly suffice' me fine flour enough for a month's provision, and this ărisès to about six score bushels; and many hogsheads of wine and other liquors have passed through this body of mine-this wretched strainer of meat and drink! And what have I done all this time for God and man? What a vast profusion of good things wasted upon a useless life and a worthless liver!

5. "There is not the meanest creature among all those which I have devoured, but hath answered the end of its creation better than I. It was made to support human nature, and it has done so. Every crab and oyster I have eat, and every grain of corn I have devoured, hath filled up its place in the rank of beings with more propriety and honor than I have done. Oh, shameful waste of life and time!"

6. In short, he carried on his moral reflections' with so just and severe a fōrce of reason, as constrained' him to change his whole course of life; to break off his follies at once, and to apply himself to gain some useful knowledge, when he was more than thirty years of age. He lived many following years, with the character of a worthy man and an excellent Christian;" he died with a peaceful conscience,' and the tears of his country were dropped upon his tomb.

7. The world, that knew the whole series of his life, were amazed at the mighty change. They beheld him as a wonder of reformation, while he himself confessed and adored the Divine power and mercy which had transformed him from a brute

1

Repast, (re påst), the act of takng food; that which is taken as food or a meal; victuals.

'Suffice, (suf flz), to be sufficient or enough; to furnish or supply.

3 Pro fusion, a large quantity. 'Reflection, the turning of the mind to what has already occupied it; continued thinking.

'Con strained', compelled; forced. Christian, (krist' yan), one who

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professes to believe in the religion of Christ; especially one whose inward and outward life is conformed to the doctrines of Christ; one born in a Christian country or of Christian parents.

* Conscience, (kon' shens), the power or principle within us which decides on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of our actions and affections, and approves or condemns them.

to a man. But this was a single instance, and we may almost venture to write miracle' upon it. Are there not numbers, in this degenerate' age, whose lives thus run to utter waste, without the least tendency to usefulnèss?

DR. FRANKLIN.

TH

SECTION XIII.

I.

54. RURAL LIFE IN SWEDEN.

HERE is something patriarchal still lingering about rural life in Sweden, which renders it a fit theme for song. Almost prīmēval' simplicity reigns over that northern land,— almost primeval solitude and stillness.

2. You pass out from the gate of the city, and, as if by magic, the scene changes to a wild, woodland landscape. Around you are forests of fir. Overhead hang the long, fan-like branches, trailing with moss, and heavy with red and blue cones. Under foot is a carpet of yellow leaves; and the air is warm and balmy. 3. On a wooden bridge you cross a little silver stream, and anon come forth into a pleasant and sunny land of farms. Wooden fences divide the adjoining fields. Across the road are gates, which are opened by troops of children. The peasants take off their hats as you pass. You sneeze, and they cry, "God bless you."

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4. The houses in the villages and smaller towns are all built of hewn timber, and for the most part painted red. The floors of the taverns are strōwn with the fragrant tips of fir boughs. In many villages there are no taverns, and the peasants take turns in receiving travelers.

5. The thrifty housewife shows you into the best chamber, the walls of which are hung round with rude pictures from the